Ukraine’s Odesa city put on UNESCO heritage in danger list

PARIS (AP) — The United Nations’ cultural agency has decided to add the historic center of Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa to the list of World Heritage sites in danger. The decision was made Wednesday at an extraordinary session of the World Heritage Committee in Paris. The director general of UNESCO said the “legendary port that left its mark in cinema, literature and arts” is “now placed under the reinforced protection of the international community.” The city has been subjected to artillery attacks and air strikes by Russian forces on multiple occasions since the beginning of the war last year. The move comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in October called on UNESCO to grant Odesa World Heritage status.