Opinion: The Future of Odesa

Sofia Chentsova reflects on the future of her hometown in the context of the Ukraine peace negotiations

Credit: Shutterstock.com/Stanislaw 1999

As proposals for peace talks circulate in global news, there is fear that Ukraine and Russia may never come to an agreement. Just to be clear, a ‘deal’ does not mean an aggressor that illegally invaded an independent country should receive concessions, but turning Ukraine into a state dictated by nuclear weapons, which has no leverage to bargain with. One of the fears growing among Ukrainians is what cities might get swept into this unfair deal.

My hometown, Odesa, is a beautiful city with rich culture and character. Unfortunately, as one of the largest Russian-speaking cities in Ukraine, its rich history and niche identity have made it a target. A key distinction should be noted: native citizens are very proud of Odesa’s own identity. Although they speak Russian, the port city was first settled by the Greeks, then the French, and the most influence came from the Jewish population. One in three Odesians is ethnically Jewish. Odesian slang is consumed with Yiddish influence. Another important detail is that Odesa has previously quelled separatist movements and has transitioned schools, universities, and all official activity to Ukrainian. The main factor, the language, is also transitioning from Russian to Ukrainian. When we look at the more profound history and craft a more detailed analysis, it becomes clear that Odesa never was and never will be a Russian city.

Politicians can always debate the identity of this city, but I think there are no better character witnesses than the natives of my beloved home. I had the privilege to conduct interviews with three women from my hometown, Viktoria, Tetiana, and Anna. After asking them a series of questions, here is what they had to say:

Tetiana, born and raised in Odesa, has a PhD in political science. She grew up in a Russian-speaking family but attended school and university taught in Ukrainian. She wholeheartedly believes that she, just like Odesa, is 100% Ukrainian. She has no desire to see Ukraine join Russia, nor does she feel that surrendering Odesa to Russia would lead to any kind of peace.

As an expert in political science and international relations, she comments, “Unfortunately, it might be the case that peace agreements will only be possible with a de facto succession of certain territories. However, it would be the same case as with Latvia and Lithuania during the USSR regime, where the rest of the world did not accept and recognize these territories as Russia officially. Russia cannot remap and change borders just because it said so. If they are given that jurisdiction, that would create a dangerous worldwide precedent allowing other aggressors to overpower world maps.”

Tetiana also believes that Ukraine should not commit to a peace deal without absolute security guarantees or the acceptance of Ukraine into the West officially. If not, “we will keep succeeding and succeeding. The goals haven’t changed since the Long Telegram and Russia does not understand “peace” talks and ceasefires. We conclude that the Russians will not follow the ceasefire based on their historical record regarding Crimea in 2014. Russia did not respect the Budapest Memorandum and violated all signed and ratified peace agreements.

There is no question that Ukraine’s sovereignty has been threatened. Ukraine kept silent and failed to respond after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Donbas and Crimea in 2014 had emboldened the Kremlin to renovate a more advanced army and act more aggressively. We will not let dictators succeed our land.

If Odesa became part of Russia, Tetiana would not stay because “succeeding Odesa from Ukraine would result in political hunting of Ukrainian nationals. Russia would probably prosecute those Ukrainians who have worked in Ukraine or other Western European states. It won’t matter if your work was political or bureaucratic; you would have been working for [Russia’s] enemy regardless.” If Tetiana returned under Russian occupation, she would be the very first to be labeled as dangerous. Intellectuals and teachers are the first targets of occupation. Among her peers, nobody would accept or support Odesa joining Russia as part of the peace deal because “Odesa is historically a Ukrainian city. Evidence of this is the transition after the 2014 invasion, when 30% of the population transitioned from Russian to Ukrainian. After the full-scale invasion, about 60% of Odesian citizens switched to speaking Ukrainian.”

Another perspective is offered by Viktoria. Viktoria is from a Russian-speaking family and studied in a Russian school (class of ‘79) and university (graduated in ‘83), where she finished her degree as a freight forwarder, a very high-demanding position back in the Soviet era. Viktoria’s family has lived in Odesa for generations, and she considers herself Ukrainian. When asked if she wanted Odesa to join Russia, her answer was simple: “No.”

She later elaborated that “Odesa should not join Russia, nor does it want to. We fought back against separatists in 2014 when the full-scale invasion was launched. We went to the beach [on the Black Sea], and when Russian vessels were coming in, people started to dig up sand and barricade the beach and cover all of our statues with sandbags. We love our city and we will do everything we can to protect it from the Russians for as long as we need to.”

Unfortunately, some people in her circle are content with Odesa joining Russia. Still, it’s a small minority of the population. Viktoria states that

“the only people I know that are okay with this idea are people immigrated from Russia for university in the USSR and have remained here. They are under the false impression that Crimea is doing ‘good’ and Odesa would be too. But most of us support our president [Zelensky], even if right now we cannot return the territories using military force, we will eventually defeat the Russians. We firmly believe in that.”

Viktoria went home for New Year's in December 2024. She told me that her Russian and Belarusian friends have started learning Ukrainian because they don’t feel comfortable speaking the language of an invader.

My last interviewee is Anna. She has a masters in political science, and she founded a charity dedicated to empowering individuals experiencing war trauma and displacement. Anna grew up in a Russian-speaking family, attended a school that was taught in Russian, but went to a university that was taught in Ukrainian.

“After the 2014 invasion, our professors came in and asked the class if anyone had any opposition to learn in Russian. If someone did, the professor would teach in Ukrainian.”

She considers herself Ukrainian and believes that “Odesa is part of Ukraine and we feel Ukrainian. To us, the Russians are invaders, and it would be a tragedy for us to surrender to them.”

I asked Anna when she was last in Ukraine, and she answered that it was 2022.

“I lived there my whole life, but I left because it was scary; we were being constantly hit. The Russians kept saying Ukrainians are the enemy, and I knew if they were going to take over the territory, they would have killed us. It is heartbreaking that I cannot return to my home because I am scared. [As the peace negotiations started circling the news], I have been worried over the past couple of months that I will never see my family and my friends again. Currently, I am part of an organization that would label me a political enemy, and that adds to my terror. But being Ukrainian and Odesian is our identity, and no regime can change that.”

Hopefully, these different perspectives and generations will offer some insights into what the actual citizens of Odesa think. When news articles publish information and propose various solutions to the war, they forget who they are bargaining with. This is my home, and no signed paper will ever make it Russia. Yes, there is a minority in my city that thinks just because most of us know Russia means we are Russian, but they are gravely mistaken. Do not trust the propaganda in the media, and do not believe any ‘referendums’ that Putin claims to pass in the occupied region. Odesa remains a target and is constantly bombed. We are a Jewish city; we are a culturally filled port city that is beautiful and unique. There is no “freeing us”; we are free and part of the independent Ukraine. We will remain so, no matter what is written down and passed under the facade of “peace”. There is no peace living next to Russia. Just ask around.