Women determined to stay glamorous despite city being hit by missiles

A war-torn Ukrainian city has more in common with Liverpool than people may think.

Ukraine’s third city Odesa, has now been at war with Russia for over two years. Despite military checkpoints, a midnight curfew, and the constant sound of air raid sirens, this stubbornly colourful city has several similarities to Liverpool

Oleksandr Zrilyi, 58, has worked in Odesa’s shipping industry since he first came to the city to attend its prestigious maritime school. More than four decades later, he is an Odesan through and through. He said: "It attracted me from my childhood, I knew about Odesa… and of course I was trying to come here.”

Because Odesa, like Liverpool, is a port city, it has always been uniquely open to influences from the rest of the world.

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Under Soviet rule, foreign visitors were restricted to certain areas and their every movement was watched by the KGB. The building once used by the infamous agency is only a stone’s throw away from where Oleksandr and I met for a coffee at the sunny book market on Troitska Street.

Oleksandr said the difference in atmosphere between Odesa and elsewhere in Ukraine back then was “tremendous" and Odesa was special in that it had foreign visitors at all.

The diverse history of the city can still be read in its street signs - which include Greek, French, Yiddish, Italian, Belarusian, and Albanian names among others.

Today, the city is famous for its unique regional identity. A mixture of Ukrainian, Russian, and Yiddish being spoken has led to a distinct accent and slang, immediately recognisable to Ukrainians across the country.

I often hear Odesa referred to as ‘Odesa Mama,’ especially by people who fled Ukraine in the first days of the war and are now desperately missing home.

Oleksandr said: "Many residents living here treat the city as a family, so this place for them is mama, and they really love the city as their own mother.”

Since moving to Liverpool, I have been struck by the similarities. I arrived as a stranger in both cities and found people who look after each other as well as strangers, because they are proud of where they come from.

Oleksandr said: "Before the war, I heard a lot from people that we don’t care what flag we lift up."

Arguably, this is something else that Odesa and Liverpool have in common. People in both places tend to identify themselves by their city first and their country second - or at least Odesans used to, until Russian missiles started killing residents.

Oleksandr said: “Now I hear that it’s Ukraine, Odesa will stay Ukraine no matter what happens.”

Like Scouse girls, Odesan girls are fond of a little glamour. With their lively interest in fashion and exceptionally high standards of personal grooming, no Odesan girl would look out of place walking down Mathew Street - and Scouse girls would fit right in on Derybasivska.

There are twenty nail salons in Odesa city centre alone.

BAE Beauty House is a women-owned salon in the city centre that provides a range of beauty services from gel nails to brow shaping. Most days, it’s full of women chatting and laughing quietly as they get their treatments.

Sometimes, when the sun is shining in Odesa, you might almost forget that this city is at war. But then you see a man in uniform embracing his family outside the bus station, or another missile alert rings out discordantly from the app on everybody’s phones. The intensity of the attacks varies from week to week but air raid sirens have been sounding in Odesa multiple times a day, most days, for over two years.

During a visit earlier this month, I fell asleep listening to explosions and woke up to the news that a Russian missile had claimed the lives of four people, including a ten-year-old girl. After more than two years at war, most Odesans are no longer surprised by what is being done to their city.

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t take a toll.

While getting your hair and nails done might seem trivial in a war zone, businesses like Dasha’s are important to local women.

As the war continues with no end in sight, there is a kind of defiance in continuing to look after yourself and caring about beautiful things. The same defiance is visible in the colourful street art now covering buildings around the city, and the flower sellers that can still be found on every other street corner.

Ella, a seventeen-year-old nail technician who works at The Beauty House, told me that Odesa definitely has its own vibe when it comes to fashion. When I asked what she wanted out of life, she gave me the same answer that I am now used to hearing from Ukrainians.

“My hopes and dreams are for a quick peace for our country. After, everything else.”

The “everything else” Ella dismissed as unimportant was her own future. I asked again, later, and she admitted shyly that she wanted to stay in the beauty industry - her dream was to open her own salon.

“Salon Ella!” I said, and she nodded, laughing. “In Odesa?” I asked, and she grinned at the silly question. Of course.