Russian Bombings Damage Historic Odesa Transfiguration Cathedral

A week of missile strikes on infrastructure, grain storage, and an Orthodox Cathedral in the port city of Odesa.

The historic Spaso-Preobrazhensky - Transfiguration Cathedral of Odesa, founded in 1794. Exterior of the cathedral after Russian missile strikes on Odesa, July 23, 2023 Image/TheWashingtonPost

The Kremlin‘s ability to create a crisis, shift the blame, and then exponentially increase the consequences of that crisis when they don’t get what they want is staggering.

Russia created a massive grain shortage after its invasion and bombardment of Ukraine, one of the largest exporters of cereals in the world.

Last year, a rare diplomatic agreement was brokered between Ukraine and Russia with the help of the UN and Turkey’s President Erdoğan. It allowed some of Ukraine’s enormous grain harvests to be exported through the Black Sea, with Russia agreeing not to attack the relevant infrastructure, but let the grain ships through to global markets. The deal has deteriorated over the last few months, and Russia has made it increasingly difficult to transport the grain due to blockading in Ukrainian waters as well as reported extra long inspection times. Nonetheless, even though just a percentage, Ukraine has shipped thirty three million tons of its normal export.

Ukraine’s port of Odesa is one of the largest in the Black Sea and serves as the gateway for one of the “breadbaskets” of the world.

The Kremlin withdrew from the deal on Monday after a series of its requests were not granted. This past week saw daily Russian bombardment of Odesa in the wake of the withdrawal. The port city had previously largely escaped heavy bombardment due to the grain agreement.

After announcing their split from the grain deal last week, Russia bombed local infrastructure and grain silos in the port city. On Wednesday, 60,000 tons of grain meant for global shipment was destroyed by the bombings.

Sunday saw another huge wave of attacks that killed one person and injured 20 more, as well as severely damaging the historic Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa, a UNESCO world heritage site. Large portions of the structure were destroyed, including much of its ornate walls and interior. Hundreds of images surfaced across social media showing the extent of the damage from the missile strike.

Heavy damage to the ornate interior of the Odesa Transfiguration Cathedral after Russian missile strikes. Odesa, Ukraine Image/Jae C. Hong/AP

Ukraine‘s Defense Ministry said the cathedral has now been “destroyed twice,” first by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and now by Vladimir Putin. The cathedral was demolished in 1936 during Stalin‘s purge of Christianity. It was rebuilt when Ukraine regained its independence from Moscow in 1991 and has remained a symbolic image for both Odesa and the whole nation of Ukraine.

The cathedral was under the Moscow Patriarchy branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which in the past has been perceived as having alarmingly close connections with the inner-workings of the Kremlin. However in May of 2022, the UOC leadership said they were severing ties with the Moscow Patriarchy after Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, a decision which they surely must have known the Kremlin would not let go unpunished. Just days after the perceived protection blanket of the grain deal was lifted, the Transfiguration Cathedral, one of the most culturally important cathedrals to Orthodox Ukrainians, was hit with Russian missiles.   

Exterior of the historic Odesa Transfiguration Cathedral as locals clear up ruble after Russian missile strikes. Odesa, Ukraine. Image/Yan Dobronosov/REUTERS

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had struck targets “where terrorist attacks were being prepared“ in the Odesa area and that all targets had been destroyed.

Reuters reported that the Russian Ministry also said that the Ukrainian reports of a Russian strike on the cathedral were false, and that Russia’s targets in Odesa were located "a safe distance" from the cathedral complex. It was also said that the “probable cause“ of the destruction to the cathedral was Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile.

This attack, while grievous, is not a surprise after more than a year of large scale land warfare and bombardment, but what is continually surprising is the Russian leadership’s ability to bully, murder, and destroy all while shamelessly lying to our faces and reversing every true narrative.

And yet, we are brought back to reality with the hundreds and thousands of regular every day Ukrainians who record and document every air raid siren and Russian cruise missile that lands in their backyard, and every school house, restaurant, and church that is bombed. This is the reality they live with in 2023.

Odesa will have many sleepless nights to come.