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Battles rage just a few hundred miles away, but tourism chiefs in the Black Sea city are still rolling out the welcome mat

Cherished by Ukrainians and Russians for its literary legacy and unique history, the port city of Odesa now finds itself under missile fire.

A proud city maintains its individuality—and seeks new vistas—amid Ukraine’s turmoil.

Shorn-headed boys somersault off the pier and splash thunderously into the spangled Dnieper River. Out they come and in they go again, jumping, tumbling, flopping, wallowing and laughing with the infinite abandon of youth. This scene, with all its qualities of an impressionist painting, is my most enduring memory of my journey up the Dnieper River from Odesa to Kyiv in the summer of 2018. It encapsulated for me a nation that appeared supremely at ease with itself, gratified with its peaceful, post-Soviet existence.  By Catherine Marshall

Predictions that Odesa's strategic value, as Ukraine's largest Black Sea port and home to its small navy, would make it an early target for the Russians have not come to pass. But the city's residents are preparing anyway.