Member-only story

Unyielding Pursuit: The Deeper Motives Behind Putin’s Relentless Attacks on Odessa

The Hidden Objectives Beyond the Ports

Shankar Narayan
7 min readAug 1, 2023
Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa

The Transfiguration Cathedral, also known as Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral, is a beautiful Eastern Orthodox Church located in the city of Odessa, Ukraine. Constructed during the 18th century, from 1794 to 1810, the cathedral has been a witness to the city’s history, surviving through various periods of turmoil and change.

The original structure was demolished by the Soviets under Joseph Stalin in 1936. It was demolished again by the Russians under Vladimir Putin on July 23, 2023.

Along with the cathedral, almost 50 other buildings, 25 of them architectural monuments, were destroyed in one day. Russians love to attack when people are asleep and the July 23 attack was not any different. Russians bombarded Odessa in the early hours of the morning.

It was not Putin’s signature of brutality; it goes slightly beyond. It showed his sickness.

Putin chose July 23rd to hit the Church because it is the feast day of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. The Transfiguration is an event in the Gospels in which Jesus is transfigured before his disciples, revealing his divine glory. It is seen as a sign of Jesus’ divinity and his future resurrection.

--

--

Shankar Narayan
Shankar Narayan

Written by Shankar Narayan

He didn't care what he had or what he had left, he cared only about what he must do.

Responses (2)