Odessa is limited to 24 hours due to the “threat of attack” on the anniversary of liberation from Nazi occupation.

Slowly walk with one or more flowers in hand. They slowed down for a few seconds and silently laid a wreath at the monument to the anniversary of the liberation of the city of Odessa from Nazi occupation. This happened on April 10, 1944, but dozens of residents of the Ukrainian region, who had been fortified for more than a month due to the possible intensification of Russian attacks on this side, paid their respects the day before. They can not do it this week.

On April 10, the day of the liberation of Odessa, residents of the region are prohibited from leaving their homes. This Saturday night, an anti-aircraft alarm that often rings across the city and gets little attention seems to have marked the start of the curfew, which was announced Friday from 9:00 pm the following Monday to 6:00 am. . A little more than 24 hours of restraint to protect the population from the “threat of a rocket attack” during an outstanding date.

“Given the events that took place in the Donetsk region, Kramatorsk, where a rocket attack on a station killed 50 people and injured 98, in Odessa on April 10, 2022, there is a threat of a rocket attack,” he said. The statement was made by the governor of the region.

More fear

The announcement came after a difficult week for the southern Ukrainian city, which was strategic for the Kremlin because of its location, history and strong cultural ties with Russia. If last week an attack on a processing plant in the region alerted residents who spotted several visible pillars of smoke in different parts of the city, various Odessa residents saw the rocket fly over them on Friday afternoon. Testimony of several citizens collected by todaytimeslive.com. After the torture, they heard the sound of an explosion at a farther distance, in a certain place, which has not yet been confirmed by the Ukrainian authorities.

Constants CheckpointsBarricades made of sandbags, hedgehogs and anti-tank pieces remind us that we are in a country of war. Residents are living a somewhat normal life and, although many shops are still closed, many restaurants and cafes are open during limited hours.

But warnings of a possible attack on April 10 have raised tensions among the population, who are beginning to exhaust themselves from life “from day to day”. “Everything seems calm now, but who knows what will happen tomorrow,” the Septuagint woman said as she looked up at the sky.

Vitali, dressed in an Odessa T-shirt, approaches a platform erecting a monument to the memory of the day when the Red Army ousted the Nazis after an operation that lasted several months and arrested their parents. The base of the obelisk is already covered with flowers, most of them decorated with yellow and blue bows.

“We are grateful to the liberators of our city. “We love our city and, thanks to them, the Nazis are gone … but we are celebrating this day with great concern because we are afraid of another bombing in Odessa,” said the 44-year-old man. “We felt and saw rockets this week. We are worried about ourselves, but also about our city. ”

His mother Lydia was taken to the front of the monument. This April 10th is also his birthday. “I will be 75 tomorrow, I was born after my release, but this day is special for me. We always come together. We are told that the situation in Odessa is not so safe. “My fear is always in the sky,” he said on Saturday.

Shortly afterwards, a female member of the territorial guard interrupts the conversation to warn the family that they are standing in the same place for too long. “In such an open space, it can be dangerous.”

“Am I a Nazi?”

Svitlana Holopoba wears a typical Soviet hat on the front, wearing a jacket full of hammers and saws and decorations. He is 84 years old and is one of the victims of those months of Nazi occupation. On April 10, 1944, he was only seven years old. Remember it was raining a lot.

Prior to that, he spent more than a year in a death row cell with his parents. He touches her neck and head to describe the torture she received from her parents as a child. Holopoba was taken hostage by the Romanian army at the Belaevka Orphanage, where there is a water pumping station. According to his testimony, a Soviet soldier found him. He was given a hat, he said at another time.

He was at home on February 24 when he learned of the start of the war. “All the memories suddenly came to me as a child. It hurts as a child, but I’m glad we are all together, like friends, defending Odessa. I’m proud of my city. “Holopoba is a regular part of every anti-fascist holiday, but this year it is special and perhaps even more painful.

He suffers for children who, like him, now have to live with the cruelty of conflict again. He is also outraged when he hears one of Russia’s justifications for invading Ukraine. The alleged “denationalization” of the country.

An old woman raises her voice: “Am I a Nazi? Do you see I look like a Nazi?

Comes alone, trying to be cautious, but a few neighbors stop to greet him. He is a member of the Odessa District Council. He approaches the monument with a bouquet of red carnations. “Every minute, every hour, we worry about something happening. We also know we have to move forward, but also to the top. “Because the rocket could fall from above.”

The usual concerts on the square on April 10 will be replaced by silence and vigilance by the Ukrainian troops and the Territorial Defense Guard. “We live every day according to the situation,” the authorities said, “but we must do everything we can to ensure the protection of our people in Odessa.” We think staying at home is best for our safety: because we can not detect the plans of the aggressor, the enemy. No one would believe that anyone could bomb a train station. I can not understand what they are doing. “Usually, a lot of people gather in this square or in other parts of the city and we want something not to happen.”

About 20 minutes drive from the center of Odessa, Dasha worries about the deteriorating situation in the city. “Everything is terrible now,” the young woman said via Whatsapp. This week he was going to celebrate his grandmother’s birthday, the day before he was taken to the hospital. “Now we have to stay home and we do not know when he will be able to leave the hospital … It is very unfortunate,” said a young woman who spent the last few weeks in Chisinau in support of Ukrainian refugees in Moldova. Capital. He waited impatiently for days to return home, but the next day of his arrival he woke up to the impact of a Russian missile on a factory in that region.

Dozens of residents have completed their last purchases up to the day of mandatory detention next to the supermarket next to the Odessa Cathedral. With a shopping bag in hand Irina and Alice were walking the dogs a few hours before the curfew. “We are concerned. “Because it is the day of the liberation of our city, there is a danger and the possibility of a rocket bombing,” said the women, who decided to stay in their city. They would leave the country only in case of Russian siege.

The curfew imposed by the Ukrainian authorities also prevents people from going out to buy food. “We bought food and will wait for something tomorrow, I do not know what,” says Alice. He works in the hotel business, but has hardly worked since the start of the war. They are accustomed to this month-and-a-half of tense calm in Odessa, where its population has been preparing since the start of the war for a Russian attack by land, sea and air, which has not yet occurred, the ground front is not yet there. Stopped in the vicinity of Mykolaiv. “We are afraid. We live every day and we are tired of living day by day. We can not plan anything. We can not think about the future. Any. “Just wake up, see that everything is fine, and move on.”