in Odessa, the catacombs ready to serve as an anti-bombing shelter

It’s a large metal trapdoor in the heart of the Moldavanka district, it opens onto a brick staircase. In a humid atmosphere, one descends to 17 meters below the surface of the ground. The catacombs of Odessa constitute a network of 2,500 km of galleries, dug from the 18th century, when stones were needed to build the city. Used by smugglers, these tunnels were then used as shelter: “Locals first found refuge there during the Civil War in the 1920ssays Maksym Baranets, speleologist and head of the Odessa Memory and Heritage Foundation. Then during the Second World War, against the Germans. And during the Cold War, it was redesigned as fallout shelters.”

For a month and the beginning of the Russian intervention in Ukraine, the catacombs have resumed service. Inflatable mattresses have been installed, stocks of water, and even a chess game.

“The first thing we did was check that there were indeed three different exits. Then we ran cables for electricity, then we installed toilets, and even wifi so that people can receive messages when the alert is lifted.”

Maksym Baranets

at franceinfo

In the Moldavanka sector, since the beginning of the war, the catacombs have accommodated up to a hundred people, even if in the district many inhabitants prefer to take shelter in their own basement. Marina, she came there a week ago. “It’s really a safe place, it’s not going to collapse. We can even go there in the event of a nuclear attack! When I came there, it was one evening around 10 p.m. There were mostly women and kids. I was there for about an hour. People were looking at their phones or chatting a bit.”

For the moment Odessa has been relatively unaffected by the strikes. Many residents no longer necessarily take shelter in the event of an alert. But if the bombardments should intensify, the catacombs are ready.