As Joe Ga's vehicle entered Odessa from the airport, he noticed that this renowned European city seemed somewhat in decline.
Once a summer resort haven, the city had lost its leisurely urban charm in the face of war.
Everyone on the streets appeared hurried; queues formed outside every bank, and most bakeries and coffee shops displayed 'closed' signs at their doors…
Russia had not launched excessively fierce attacks on Odessa, confining itself to missile strikes on the city's outskirts at the onset of hostilities, causing power outages in some areas.
Meanwhile, they cut off the road east of Kherson, scattering the scattered Ukrainian garrisons nearby to prevent them from launching attacks from behind during the Russian Army's siege of Mariupol.
To be honest, aside from high-level officials, even if the media screamed loudly, neither ordinary Ukrainian citizens nor the military's lower middle ranks were prepared.
