Russia will try to enter Odesa through the sea with its Naval forces from Crimea and simultaneously send troops to encircle it from land. Gaining Odesa will allow the Russian forces to take control of the entire coastal line of Ukraine.
Earlier with the annexation of Crimea, Russia brought Ukraine’s Naval fleet headquartered at Svestapool into its command. Now, taking Odesa city will get three of the city’s ports under Russian control. That will effectively cut Ukraine from its sea route, leaving Road and Rail connectivity alone for transport.
Odesa is also Ukraine’s third-largest city and biggest international port in the black sea region, handling humungous freight and consumer traffic.
With twenty-five percent of the city’s population being ethnic Russians, the South Ukrainian city has been a preferred getaway for the erstwhile Russian empire and a significant trading and naval port for USSR.
Odesa’s Mayor Gennadiy Leonidovich Trukhanov has said that the citizens of the port city are bracing for strikes from Russia. He noted that losing Odesa to Russian troops will end cargo movements to Ukraine, hence ending its economy and development. Sandbags from the ports are being shifted into the streets to build bunkers. Also, barbed wires and automatic weapons are mounted to defend the city.
After taking control of Kherson, Russia has made efforts to strike Mykolaiv, which is being defended by Ukrainian forces, according to Ukrainian presidential adviser Olekisy Arestovich. The Ukrainian Navy has also scuttled its flagship Hetman Sahadachny undergoing repairs in the Nikolaev shipyard to prevent Russian forces from seizing it.
Russia could send its land troops through its amphibious assault ships from the Black sea and its troops progressing landwards from Kherson. Odesa Regional Military Administration reports suggest that Russian troops are possibly regrouping and poising for a siege of Odesa.
War clouds are looming large over Odesa. But why isn’t the Ukrainian Government moving out Odesians from the city if an attack is imminent?