Odesa is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrative centre of the Odesa Raion and Odesa Oblast, as well as a multiethnic cultural centre. As of January 2021, Odesa's population was approximately 1,010,537. On 25 January 2023, its historic city centre was declared a World Heritage Site and added to the List of World Heritage in Danger by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in recognition of its multiculturality and 19th-century urban planning. The declaration was made in response to the bombing of Odesa during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has damaged or destroyed buildings across the city.
The Odessa massacre was the mass murder of the Jewish population of Odessa and surrounding towns in the Transnistria Governorate during the autumn of 1941 and the winter of 1942 while it was under Romanian control. It was one of the worst massacres in Ukrainian territory.
The OdesaNational Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre is the oldest theatre in Odesa, Ukraine. The Theatre and the Potemkin Stairs are the most famous edifices in Odesa.
The Odessa Military District was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This district consisted of Moldavia and five Ukrainian oblasts of Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Crimea and Zaporizhzhia. In 1998 most of its territory was transformed into the Southern Operational Command.
The Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa is the Orthodox Cathedral in Odesa, Ukraine, dedicated to the Transfiguration of Jesus and belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. It was severely damaged by a Russian missile attack on Odesa on July 23, 2023.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Odessa, Ukraine.
Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art is a museum of Fine Arts on Pushkin street in Odesa, Ukraine.
Odesa National Fine Arts Museum or Odesa National Art Museum is one of the principal art galleries of the city of Odesa in Ukraine. Founded in 1899, it occupies the Potocki Palace, itself a monument of early 19th century architecture. The museum now houses more than 10 thousand pieces of art, including paintings by some of the best-known Russian and Ukrainian artists of late 19th and early 20th century. It is the only museum in Odesa that has free entrance day every last Sunday of the month.
The Association "Struggle" is a Stalinist organization operating in Odesa, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Dnipro in Ukraine.
In early 2014, there were clashes between rival groups of protestors in the Ukrainian city of Odesa, during the pro-Russian unrest that followed the Ukrainian Revolution. The street clashes were between pro-revolution ('pro-Maidan') protesters and anti-revolution ('anti-Maidan'), pro-Russian protesters. Violence erupted on 2 May, when a 'United Ukraine' rally of about 2,000 was attacked by about 300 pro-Russian separatists. Stones, petrol bombs and gunfire were exchanged. A pro-Russian gunman shot dead a pro-Ukraine protester. Another pro-Ukraine activist and four pro-Russia activists were shot dead in the clashes. The pro-Ukraine group then moved to dismantle a pro-Russian protest camp in Kulykove Pole, causing some pro-Russian activists to barricade themselves in the nearby Trade Unions House. Shots were fired from the building at the pro-Ukraine group, and the pro-Ukrainians attempted to storm the building, which caught fire as the two groups threw petrol bombs at each other.
Mikhail Reva is a Ukrainian artist, sculptor, architect, a founder of a non-profit organisation REVA Foundation.
Vasiliy Ryabchenko is a Ukrainian painter, photographer, and installation artist. One of the key artists in contemporary Ukrainian art, and the "New Ukrainian Wave".
The history of the Jews in Odesa dates to 16th century. Since the modern city's founding in 1795, Odesa has been home to one of the largest population of Jews in what is today Ukraine. They comprised the largest ethno-religious group in the region throughout most of the 19th century and until the mid-20th century.
During the southern Ukraine offensive of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the city of Odesa and the surrounding region have been the target of shelling and air strikes by Russian forces on multiple occasions since the conflict began, fired predominantly from Russian warships situated offshore in the Black Sea. The city has also been targeted by Russian cruise missiles.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Armed Forces have launched several missile attacks over the city of Dnipro in Ukraine. These have led to dozens of fatalities and over a hundred injuries among the civilian population.
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military have carried out deliberate attacks against civilian targets and indiscriminate attacks in densely-populated areas. The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine says the Russian military exposed the civilian population to unnecessary and disproportionate harm by using cluster bombs and by firing other weapons with wide-area effects into civilian areas, such as missiles, heavy artillery shells and multiple launch rockets. As of 2024, the attacks had resulted in the UN-documented deaths of between 11,000 and estimated 40,000 dead civilians. On 22 April 2022, the UN reported that of the 2,343 civilian casualties it had been able to document, it could confirm 92.3% of these deaths were as a result of the actions of the Russian armed forces.
During the autumn and winter of 2022–2023, Russia launched waves of missile and drone strikes against energy in Ukraine as part of its invasion. The strikes targeted civilian areas beyond the battlefield, particularly critical power infrastructure, which is considered a war crime. By the end of 2023, Russian forces launched about 7,400 missiles and 3,900 Shahed drone strikes against Ukraine according to Ukrainian military officials.
The Historic Centre of Odesa, Historical City Centre of Odesa, or Centre of Odesa is a city centre and World Heritage Site in Odesa, Ukraine. It was listed in 2023, and currently, it is on the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
External damage
White Hall after the strike
Silk living room
Walnut room
