An electric car with tourists drives past the Londonsky Hotel in the heart of Odesa. They are looking at the newly vandalized facade and broken windows of the historic building, which was built in the late 1820s. Utility workers are dumping the garbage collected after the Russian "arrival" into containers. On the balconies, they remove the remains of broken glass and measure window and door openings to replace the damaged ones.

Across the street from the hotel, in the flowerbed of Prymorsky Boulevard, there is a sinkhole left by a Russian "shahed". Passersby stop for a few minutes to take pictures consequences of the Russian attack on the city on the night of July 24, 2025. This attack again damaged historical center of Odesawhich is protected by UNESCO, residential buildings, the premises of the Odesa Zoo, and the unique Privoz market.

Russian attacks have become more frequent, says LIGA.net olga, an IDP who has been living in the center of Odesa for three years: "The night was loud. The apartment shook, there was a powerful blast wave." This time, her house was not damaged, but during the previous Russian strike on the night of June 9-10, windows were smashed and the floor cracked.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in Odesa, more than 175 cultural heritage sites have been damaged, 20 have been significantly destroyed, says LIGA.net Fedir Stoyanov, head of the department for work with UNESCO and protection of cultural heritage in Odesa. These are the figures for early June. However, this figure is constantly growing publish photos.

From this text you will learn:

  • how and why Russia is erasing the European face of Odesa
  • where did the stereotype of "a simple city with a gangster flair" come from?
  • why the seemingly intact facades often hide significant destruction
  • who repairs architectural monuments after shelling – and why not always.

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