Ukraine war: Families in port city of Odesa prepare for Russian advance as battleships lurk off coast
People walking along the coast in Odesa squint into the winter sun trying to catch a glimpse of the threat that lurks in the distance.
Friday 18 March 2022 12:05, UK
A flotilla of Russian navy battleships is stalking the coast of Ukraine.
The images are hazy, but no less menacing if you happen to live here.
People walking along the coast in Odesa squint into the winter sun trying to catch a glimpse of the threat that lurks in the distance.
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One of the largest navy fleets in the world is staring back. Perhaps poised.
In the city centre, there are children drawing pictures with chalk on the ground of one of the main squares in Odesa.
Soborna Square is bathing in sunshine and some men are playing chess. A man is taking a stroll with his dog.
Then an air raid siren sounds, followed by a quick succession of church bells. Then we hear a recorded message. "The air alert is on, keep yourself safe. Find shelter," it warns on a loop.
Lots of people seem to ignore this message and continue about their business.
Valeriya worries about her children
But one family knows better.
Valerian and his wife Valeriya usher their two children, nine-year-old Vadim and Vladislava, seven, into a nearby subway.
Three days ago they fled their home in Mykolaiv, the port city 120km to the east that has been the subject of heavy shelling in recent days.
They fled by car after their neighbourhood was bombed, killing nine people.
They tell me they are surprised more people are not running for cover.
"The building we live in Mykolaiv was damaged during shelling," says Valerian, 39.
"I was afraid for my family's lives so we moved to Odesa three days ago.
"We live at our friend's place now and when the situation calms down, we are going to return to Mykolaiv."
We are standing in the subway, surrounded by closed trinket shops selling keyrings, caps and other memorabilia.
'The most precious thing is life, especially the lives of our children'
Valeriya, 34, tells us she is worried about the children.
"We didn't want to leave our home," she says. "We just bought a flat, repaired it, also bought new furniture. But when the windows in the nearby flats were shattered because of the explosion, you are scared. The most precious thing is life, especially the lives of our children."
Half an hour later we're given the all clear and we climb the steps back into the sunshine.
UNICEF says that millions of children will be caught up in the violence as the fighting intensifies.
Families tired of running away from war
But for some families, this isn't their first experience of war.
Hanna Skogoreva fled the fighting in Donetsk, in the east, in 2014.
She now lives in a derelict building with her husband and two children, nine-year-old Daria and Angelina, five.
"My husband works in a security company and he has two-day shifts," she says. "So I am always afraid that when war starts he won't be at home."
They recently moved from a higher floor apartment to the ground floor to be nearer a bomb shelter.
"We covered the windows with cardboard to protect us from glass," she says. "The first two days of war we slept at another apartment.
"If the shelling becomes very heavy, we have a basement under this apartment. We have a stairway ready, so we will go there quickly."
I ask her why she has not moved to somewhere safer. She tells me she is tired of running away from war.
"This is my land," she says.
