Ukraine's Odesa opens a few beaches for the first time since Russian invasion

People relax at a Black Sea beach that was reopened after being closed down last year following sea mines laid around the ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv by Russia and Ukraine, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine August 10, 2023. REUTERS/Serhii Smolientsev/File photo

ODESA, Ukraine (Reuters) - Several beaches in Ukraine's Black Sea city of Odesa have officially opened for swimming for the first time since the start of the Russian invasion, although bathing is banned during air raid alerts, local officials said on Saturday.

Odesa, Ukraine's largest port and naval base, was repeatedly attacked with missiles and drones and the sea was littered with hundreds of sea mines following the invasion in February last year.