In front of the barricade that blocks access to the Odessa opera house, a soldier, his wife and their daughter embrace one another as they reluctantly part ways. It is a sweet scene from the daily life of a city known as "the pearl of the Black Sea" -- still at peace but ready for war, which oscillates between anxious expectation of a Russian attack and the redolence of early spring.
![Road block in the Odessa's historical centre Road block in the Odessa's historical centre](https://static.euronews.com/articles/stories/06/55/04/68/1200x675_cmsv2_1c4678d9-5e18-559e-8572-58b5621eab8a-6550468.jpg)
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In front of the barricade that blocks access to the Odessa opera house, a soldier, his wife and their daughter embrace one another as they reluctantly part ways. It is a sweet scene from the daily life of a city known as "the pearl of the Black Sea" -- still at peace but ready for war, which oscillates between anxious expectation of a Russian attack and the redolence of early spring.
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