As a result of a Russian missile strike on the night of September 25 in Odesa, one of the symbols of the city – the seaport and the hotel near it – was destroyed. Probably, everyone who has ever visited Odessa has a photo against the background of this hotel. It did not work for many years, so there were no casualties.

On the Web, Odesa residents share their memories of buildings mutilated by the explosion.

Kateryna Nozhevnikova wrote on Facebook that the whistling of rockets, the buzzing of Shahed drones, explosions and shots in the middle of the night in Odesa made it seem that her home would simply collapse.

"And then, from the window of my apartment on the roof of an old house in an elite area, I watched the building that I spent almost 10 years in when I worked for a travel company burn. Where I really spent my youth – on the building of the seaport. To the city where we met our father from flights all our childhood. Where, on the 17th berth, my sister and I lived for several months on the Druzhba sailboat, on which our father worked, and all our friends envied us like fools," said a local resident.

A hotel in Odesa destroyed by a Russian missile / Photo: State Emergency Service

She added that she also looked at the hotel building, which was bought by her friend before the full-scale war, to correct the mistakes of those who once built it there.

"Yes, Odesa residents did not really like this building. Yes, a building is better than people. But it was still horrible to watch this 'liberation' of us by our brothers," Kateryna Nozhevnikova wrote.

She also posted a screenshot of correspondence with the owner of the hotel building, Andrei Stavtsitser.

"That's why we shot down one Onyx at night. A hotel))," he joked.

On his Facebook page, Andrey Stavnitser said that he dreamed of reconstructing the hotel.

"It was my hotel – the Kempinski Odesa... I didn't like this hotel – a monument to gouging and bad taste – as much as all Odessa residents, so I dreamed of finally reconstructing it. I dreamed of this for a long time, invested millions of dollars, bought a stake from private investors and, despite the war, closed a deal with the state," the businessman wrote.

He promised to rebuild the destroyed hotel.

Olha Malovana, a local resident, recalled that the hotel used to host many guests of the city, and many conferences were held there.

"This is the former Kempinski. He worked for a while. Then the hotel became Odesa and also worked. At one time, I received many guests of the city, and there were many conferences," the woman wrote.

"Be that as it may, there is no such thing! The only thing left to do is to dismantle the ruins – and the famous view of the sea from Duke opens up again! And no one died!" wrote Serhiy Tykhyi.

Missile strike in Odesa on September 25

Recall that on the night of September 25, the Russian army struck the Odesa region. The enemy used attack drones and two types of missiles. The occupiers destroyed the granaries. Odesa's business card – the passenger terminal and the station hotel – were damaged.