From the first hours of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the famous port city of Odesa has largely been without a working port.
Once bustling with cargo vessels, cruise ships, sailboats, yachts and fishing trawlers, the harbor is now a vast expanse of open water.
Sophia Dobrovolska, a 16-year-old aspiring merchant marine at the Odesa Sea Academy, lives on that empty sea.
“When the full-scale war started, my mom thought of leaving, but I told her: ‘No, my college is here.
I will not go.’”President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has long made clear that he wants to capture Odesa, a goal that looks increasingly less likely.
Persons:
Sophia Dobrovolska, ”, “, ’, Vladimir V, Putin
Organizations:
Sea Academy, Odesa
Locations:
Ukraine, Odesa, Russia