Thoughts about Odesa: ‘We must overcome betrayal to become independent’

If you’ve been following events about Russia’s bloody war against Ukraine, with its devastating bombardment of civilian targets and infrastructure, then you’d know that promises in the Kremlin are – actually, have always been – rather cheap. They’ll promise one thing, such as stopping destruction of civilian targets only to resume bombing civilian apartment buildings before the ink dries.

This week, in the midst of negotiations and the White House’s delusional belief that Moscow can be believed, Russia attacked Ukraine with 145 drones, two ballistic missiles, and four anti-aircraft missiles, Ukraine’s Air Force said. The attacks targeted the Sumy, Odesa, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Chernihiv regions; 72 drones were shot down, the air force said on Wednesday. Then today, at least seven people were killed after Russian launched a barrage of drones across Ukraine.  The attacks, including on the capital, Kyiv, came ahead of ceasefire negotiations. These is the monotonous but deadly repetition of Russia’s attacks against Ukrainian civilians—negotiate, truce, stop attacks, resume attacks, week in, week out.

Russia attacked Ukraine’s historic port city of Odesa during the overnight of March 21, triggering fires as several infrastructure targets were hit as well as a high-rise residential building and shopping center. Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said the drone attack happened while Czech President Petr Pavel was meeting with regional officials in Odesa.

“Significantly, it was during our meeting that the enemy once again massively attacked the Odesa region,” Kiper said in a statement on Telegram.

Pavel said he discussed further direct support for Ukraine during the Odesa meeting.

“I arrived in Odesa, Ukraine, which has been resisting Russian aggression since the beginning of the war. Aid is being from the Czech Republic in the form of combat vehicles, drones, protective vests, mobile jammers that protect residents from drone attacks, as well as medical equipment such as ventilators and hospital beds,” Pavel said on X. “Together with the leadership of the Odesa, Mykolayiv and Kherson regions, we discussed further direct support for the regions that are directly on the front line.”

I asked my wife’s 50-year-old family friend for her thoughts on Moscow’s latest bombing of her hometown. She observed: “I remember how scary it was in 2022 (When Russia’s latest war against Ukraine began on February 22, 2022). How I woke up in the morning and read the news that the ‘orcs’ (Ukrainians’ pejorative description of Russian invaders.)  were approaching Mykolayiv, that in three hours they could be in Odesa, how Russian ships were anchored opposite Odesa, enemy guns were pointed at us, the Russian landing force tried to capture the city several times, how Odesa was closed for 2-3 days with a curfew. We all started praying in the morning and after a few hours the enemy retreated, his plans collapsed... Our guys went out to these monstrosities almost with their bare hands and pushed them back again and again. How many hours did that first long day of the war last? I don't remember when it ended for me personally – in three months or a year and a half, maybe when Kherson and Kharkiv were liberated. But, remembering those very difficult times, I clearly understand that God, his Protection and Help are always with us... otherwise we would not have survived then, in 2022. Ukraine has been defending itself from enemies for a very long time, but it has never learned to defend itself from betrayal. We must learn this lesson in order to finally become completely independent and self-sufficient.”

Ukrainians’ hope for a swift and victorious end to the war is intensified with every Russian drone and missile and every drop of Ukrainian blood. God bless Ukrainians.

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