shades fills you in

odesa is a black sea port in southwestern ukraine. before the invasion, it was the country’s 3rd largest city and its busiest international port

putin tried to take odesa early during the invasion. rolling stone says he didn’t expect the famously diverse -- and divided -- city to unite against russian advances. and he lost in the end

odesa has a colorful history: catherine the great founded the city in 1794 after the russian empire took control of the land from the ottoman empire. during the 19th century, it became a trading hub that attracted an international population and created a unique culture of cafés and art

an nyt op recounts how odesa became central to global wheat production during the first wave of globalization in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. pre-ww1, it was a vibrant and diverse center of trade

and before ww2, odesa was one of the most jewish cities in the world. a series of pogroms in the early 20th century and mass executions during ww2 decimated the population

you may already be familiar with a famous odesa landmark. one of the most iconic sequences in film history -- “the odesa steps” scene from the 1925 film battleship potemkin -- shows a (fictional) account of the 1905 uprising in the city

watch it here

want to get a sense of the city pre-invasion? check out this aerial drone tour of the “pearl of the black sea”

odesa used to be a major pro-russian pocket of ukraine. but since the invasion, the city is firmly on the side of the ukrainian resistance, says the atlantic council

sky news says russia went after odesa early in the invasion bc it wanted to cut ukraine off from the black sea, making it a landlocked country

but russia seriously miscalculated, says forbes. it wasted resources going after kyiv and failed spectacularly. it might have had a shot at taking odesa by sea if it had focused on the city from the start. now, the city is likely out of its reach

and ukraine also repelled a land-based advance. the wsj describes how in an early march battle, the town of voznesensk repelled invaders and cut off russia’s main path to odesa

defending odesa isn’t just about ukraine, says visegrad insight. it’s also about protecting south central europe from a russian invasion