A blue cat smiles successfully as it steps on a pile of burning Russian planes against the wall in the port city of Odessasouth of Ukraine.

From the beginning of the war, a Ukrainian street art collective He painted dozens of similar cats in this city on the shores of the Black Sea.

“Odessa is a port city, so many cats. In the war, they became patriotic“, said Matroskin, one of the artists of the group LBWS.

“This is our only option. There are others who are volunteers, there are those who are fighting on the front lines and our morale rises with cats“, added the 32-year-old.

“Good evening. We are Ukrainians”

At the Privoz market, cats wield bazookas and pistols, destroy Russian warships and wear military clothing while making a “V” sign for victory with their feet.

The works have nothing to do with the works of the famous British Banksy, who painted walls around the world. His strokes are less sophisticated and have a funny touch, but the message of resistance is penetrating.

Next to a big cat that destroyed Russian planes was a message that became a kind of unofficial slogan of the fight against Moscow: “Good evening. We are Ukrainians”.

Taking Odessa is a strategic priority for Moscow if you want to control the Black Sea region. But the city of a million inhabitants continues to be proud of his freedom.

Mikolaiv, a city 130 kilometers to the east, fiercely resisted the Russian attack in March and did not directly protect Odessa.

Given Moscow’s severe losses in its attempt to invade the whole of Ukraine, the current threat to Odessa seems “very small,” said George Barros, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.

“The Russians, at this point of the war, did not have the fighting capability or the necessary logistical support to carry out an attack” against Odessa, he said.

For this analyst, Russia should be “fair” to use the remaining troops and “focus on its objectives” in the Donbas region and in the city of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine.

In the nearly 50 days of the war, less than ten attacks have hit Odessamainly causing material damage.

And the relatively independent life of the residents of Odessa seems to suit the military situation in this part of Ukraine.

There is virtually no control to limit movement in the city, except for a few barricades and sandbags placed near the port, a big contrast to the deaths and destruction suffered by the port city of Mariupol.

But with the curfew starting at 9:00 p.m.Odessa has become a scary citywhere the lively atmosphere on the terraces of the cafes and the busy traffic disappeared.

“The people of Odessa don’t panic … They’re ready for anything, but hopefully it won’t come,” said Mikhail Beyzerman, 59, a well -known cultural figure in the city.

Psychologist Alex Krugliashenko diagnosed the “decline” of the war in Odessawith people who enjoy small pleasures like having coffee or enjoying every day of life.

“We all know what’s going on and how people are suffering in other cities, but we want to share some kind of hope that everything will be okay,” he said.

But it is not easy to ignore the impact of war and the collapse of the national economy. Gennadiy Suldim, a construction businessman with 172 employees, has suffered since the beginning of the fighting.

“I have been poor,” said the 55-year-old stoically, whose new vocation is to collect donations and equipment for the Ukrainian army.

“All I have to do is support the armyfrom the time I wake up until I go to sleep.

“The only thing I feel is hatred (…) I want to destroy every last Russian troop,” he declared.

For his part, Matroskin also applied his artistic skills to the military, painting his vehicles in camouflage colors.

“I am a pacifist, but not when my country is under attack,” he said. “I want the Russian troops to lie on the ground (dead) so that they can no longer step into our country with their weapons,” he confessed.

AFP