In Odessa as in Mykolaiv, 130 km further east, which bars access to the Russian army, the inhabitants hardly recognize their city, denatured by the war.

Turning his back on some of the street's emblematic sites, such as the former Bolchaïa Moskovskaïa hotel, also nicknamed the "House of Faces" for the decorations of its green Art Nouveau facade, a few hundred meters below, Viktor Oliïnik applies to restore this new reality.

"I used to paint Odessa", explains the artist, with a graying three-day beard and wearing a black cap.

He appreciates the light and quiet of late afternoon, a few hours before the night curfew.

"But here I am taking advantage of this opportunity, I could never have imagined such a scene", he continues, a bundle of paintbrushes in hand, pointing to the obstacles and the fortifications all along the street lined with an elegant garden.

Anti-tank obstacles placed in a street in Odessa, Ukraine, March 13, 2022 BULENT KILIC AFP

"This is how this era of chaos must end, to give way to an era of balance," he prophesies with mystical accents.

Higher up, on the square of the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, men passionately play games of dominoes, chess or trictrac, imperturbable despite sporadic aerial alerts.

Urban deforestation

"It's really painful" to see his city so transformed, confirms a volunteer from Odessa, Vladislav Gaidarji, 25, who came to deliver aid to hospitals and troops in Mykolaiv.

Some of her friends who left Odessa at the start of the war "didn't believe their eyes" when they found her a month later, he says.

"They were shocked to see so many streets blocked off with steel objects to slow down vehicles."

A Ukrainian flag flies despite its tears after a Russian bombardment, in Mykolaiv in Ukraine, March 27, 2022 Oleksandr GIMANOV AFP

“I hope that very soon, not only Odessa but all Ukrainian cities will regain their beauty, under the Ukrainian flag,” he adds.

If the center of Mykolaiv, pounded for weeks by the Russian army, bears few visible traces with the exception of a missile attack on Tuesday which gutted the headquarters of the regional administration, killing 24 people according to a latest assessment, the city has also completed its transformation.

For several weeks, the sound of electric saws has been ringing out on the main roads.

Hundreds of large trees were felled on the avenues and then cut down on the spot.

In the absence of an official announcement, residents are speculating on the reasons for this urban deforestation campaign.

A florist delivers the most common hypotheses: it is either to prevent seasonal allergies, or to widen the arteries for military purposes, or even to prevent falling trees from tearing out electrical wires.

Cut trees in the center of Mykolaiv in Ukraine, March 27, 2022 BULENT KILIC AFP

But an employee of the emergency services, Pavel Katsan, who participates in these clear cuts, construction helmet on his head, claims to know the reason.

"We cut these trees to provide firewood to the men of the territorial defense", joined since the Russian invasion by many civilian volunteers, he explains.

"We also cut down part of it in the spring to avoid allergies", he confirms, "but this year it is special".

© 2022 AFP