2023-08-13 06:30:00
The once-popular holiday destination in Ukraine reopens its beaches for the first time since the Russian invasion
People visit a Black Sea beach that was reopened following being closed last year in Odessa on August 10. Serhii Smolentsev/Archyde.com
Beaches have officially opened for swimming in Ukraine’s largest port city, Odessa, for the first time since the full-scale Russian invasion began in February 2022, local officials announced Saturday.
However, bathing is still prohibited during air raid warnings in this Black Sea city.
Odessa has seen relentless waves of Russian attacks over the past 17 months, littering the waters with sea mines and forcing authorities to close the stretch of sandy beaches and resorts once popular with Ukrainian and foreign tourists.
However, despite the fact that swimming was officially prohibited since the beginning of the war, some people have continued to do so.
The city’s beaches were further clouded in June when dirty water from the collapse of the Russian-controlled Nova Kakhovka dam washed downstream, something the Odessa municipality described as a “real threat” to the health of residents.
The head of the Odessa region’s military administration, Oleh Kiper, said several “swimming and recreation areas” would be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time in a post on the Telegram messaging app on Saturday, adding that more beaches would open as inspections were completed.
Kiper said lifeboats and mesh fencing would be required to protect once morest explosive devices in open swimming areas, adding that divers would be sent to survey the Black Sea waters if necessary. There will also be a daily coastal cleanup, he said.
In a Telegram post, the Odessa municipality said bomb shelters were available near the reopened swimming spots, with shelter locations indicated on information boards on the beaches.
But while Odessa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said it was the administration’s responsibility to “prepare all the necessary infrastructure,” he added, “in my personal opinion, beach vacations, as recreation, are a bit out of context while our defenders are fighting for every meter of Ukrainian land.”
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