Ukrainians fight to hold the port city of Odessa as exodus out of the country persists

Nick Schifrin:

In 11 days, they have filled 300,000 bags, their battle cry, the national anthem. As this chorus still rings loud on this beach, in the city center, it has fallen silent.

This is the heart of the city, usually a bustling and loud street. But you can see everything here is completely closed. And, at the end of this street, Odessa's world's famous opera house, sandbagged, protected. This city, this country, Europe, has not seen this image in 80 years.

The last time Odessa's opera house came under siege was World War II, when German-allied Romanian troops occupied the city. Today, barbed wire and beach-filled sandbags protect active-duty soldiers deployed inside their home towns, streets normally full of cafes now strewn with anti-armor vehicle barricades known as hedgehogs. And hotels are protected by tires and Odessans who haven't lost their trademark humor, like Valentina Volanskaya, who, when I asked her age, said, people don't live that long.

Valentina Volanskaya, Resident of Odessa (through translator): Our city has been standing, is standing, and will always be standing. You understand? That's it. Odessa is the center of the world. You should know that. Why did you come here if you don't know that?

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