"Russian Warship's First Attack on Odesa: Crisis in the Largest Port City"

On the 6th (local time), volunteers in Odesa, Ukraine's largest port city, are stacking sandbags to build barricades in preparation for attacks by Russian forces.

On the morning of the 21st (local time), Russian forces reportedly attacked the outskirts of the southwestern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, according to major foreign news outlets.

According to reports, an official from the Odesa City Council told foreign media, "The building that was attacked caught fire, but there were no casualties." Foreign media noted that this was the first time Russian forces attacked the outskirts of Odesa.

Local media also reported that Russian warships in the Black Sea shelled Odesa. Hennadiy Trukhanov, the mayor of Odesa, said, "The civilian residential building that was attacked was home to peaceful people."

Odesa, located adjacent to the Black Sea, has a population of around one million, making it the third largest city in Ukraine after Kyiv and Kharkiv. It is also widely known as the filming location of the masterpiece film "Battleship Potemkin."

As the largest port city handling most of Ukraine's maritime exports and imports, if this city falls under Russian control, it could deal a significant strategic and economic blow to Ukraine.

Since Russian forces have effectively taken control of the southeastern port city of Mariupol and the southern city of Kherson, if Odesa also falls to Russian forces, Ukraine's southern coastline would be cut off.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.