War in Ukraine
Dr Sidharth Kaushal, research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said Odessa was a "key artery" for Ukraine's maritime trade, with about 70 per cent of the country's maritime trade flowing through the city. "Holding it would give Russia a chokehold on the Ukrainian economy," he said. ... Kaushal added that the fall of Kherson was "symbolically important" as it was the first major Ukrainian city to have fallen into Russian hands, however added that it didn't appear to have been heavily defended so did not necessarily prove much in Russia's ability to take over cities.
