The old town of the Ukrainian port city of Odessa is now considered an endangered world heritage site. “Odessa, a free city, a cosmopolitan city with a famous port that has shaped films, literature and the arts, is now under the increased protection of the international community,” UNESCO Secretary-General Audrey Azoulay said today. Inclusion on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger means better access to technical and financial support.
Russia had tried in vain to prevent the Ukrainian city on the Black Sea from being included in the World Heritage List. The Russian representative emphasized that the application for admission was copied from Wikipedia. In addition, Ukraine itself destroyed buildings in Odessa. The city has been bombed several times since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression, but remained largely intact.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who requested the city’s listing in October to protect it from Russian attacks, welcomed the decision. “Today Odessa received UNESCO protection,” he wrote on Twitter. “I am grateful to the partners who are helping to protect our pearl from the attacks of the Russian invaders,” he added. “A diplomatic victory,” emphasized the Ukrainian politician Emine Djeppar.
UNESCO included the city in an “emergency mechanism” in light of the ongoing war. In addition to the old town of Odessa, the International Fair in Tripoli, Lebanon, and the landmarks of the ancient kingdom of Sheba in Yemen have also been included in the list of World Heritage in Danger. There are currently 1,157 cultural and natural sites in 167 countries on the UNESCO World Heritage List. 55 of them are considered threatened.
