A scared city: reporting from Odessa. Interview to The Odessa Journal director Ugo Poletti

«A scared city», this is how Ugo Poletti describes nowadays Odessa, under the russian attack. The editor in chief of the Odessa Journal, an online newspaper written in english, reports on how the Ukrainian city is living these dramatic hours. Poletti reveals: «The news of waterborne forces landed in Odessa or nearby were soon amended. No Russian unit reached the City, yet».

What’s the situation in Odessa these days? What are the rules to be followed by local civilians and how everyday’s life is changing?
«These days, Odessa is a scared city. Thursday morning, when the Russian attack started, the city was hit by rockets, probably from the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Their targets were Ukrainian military equipment. After this coordinated attacks there were other sporadic strikes in the following days. A state of emergency and curfew, from 19:00 to 06:00, were issued. Further to these rules, most of citizens stay at home, except for those who left the city towards Moldova, Romania and Poland». 

Italian Premier Mario Draghi just informed Italian Parliament said that “Russian waterborne forces just entered Odessa and there are already 20 victims”.
«The news of waterborne forces landed in Odessa or nearby were soon amended. No Russian unit reached the City, yet. The 20 victims were reported during the attack to the Ukrainian navy terminal in the Odessa City Sea Port, Thursday morning».

What kind of help by NATO and the European Union is expected by Ukrainian people and by the foreign people living in Ukraine?
«Ukrainian people relied on a direct military support, in other terms, American and European troops joining the fight against Russians. Of course, they were very disappointed when they saw EU and US not sending their armies. However, Ukrainian Armed forces are receiving further military equipment and financial funds».

Shall NATO make the move of accepting Ukraine’s request to join the Alliance in this phase?
«NATO Treaty does not allow any Country with a domestic or external conflict to join the alliance. It would automatically drag the other member states into the war. Therefore, most of NATO members do not want to make this step. Ukraine desperately wanted to join the military alliance guided by the US to receive a full military protection. This present conflict started to prevent NATO to include Ukraine».

How urgent is a UN Resolution to stop war and reset the dialogue table?
«Any UN resolution would not contribute to stop the conflict. And Russia has a veto power inside the Security Council. Unfortunately, UN cannot play a decisive role».

The Odessa Journal is the media English voice of the city. What local and international English speaking people are asking the journal? Are foreigners living in Odessa trying to leave Ukraine? 
«The audience of The Odessa Journal is composed as follows: 30% residents in Ukraine (including expatriates) and 70% of readers of other countries (mostly Europe and North America). Many foreigners left Odessa, crossing the border with Moldova».

As an Italian living in Ukraine, what kind of support are you receiving from the Italian Foreign Affairs Minister?
«The Crisis Unit of Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited the Italian community living in Odessa at the beginning of this year and taught us practical rules to implement in case of crisis: meeting point, registering one’s presence on the Ministry’s website, appointing a group leader to exchange information. The Italian Embassy in Kiev sends to the group leader constant updates on the situation and safety instructions».

In your personal opinion, is the Ukraine control the final target for Russia and Vladimir Putin or other countries shall expect the same destiny in the near future?
«My personal opinion is that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is trying to restore a zone of influence in Ukraine, as he already did in Belorussia and Kazakhstan, in order to create a security distance between Russian capital and large cities and the military line-up of the main potential enemy, which is NATO».