Fury in Odesa after Russian missiles destroy beloved Orthodox cathedral

The people of Odesa work to move debris in and around the cathedral

In a string of bombings over the course of a week, Russia has partially destroyed Odesa's beloved Orthodox cathedral.

Photos and footage show the extent of the destruction after a series of missile and drone attacks targeted The Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa, which stands at the heart of the city's past and has deep roots in both Ukrainian and Russian culture.

The attacks marked the first time the historic city center was hit since the war started.

Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov directed a video message to Russians after Sunday’s strike on the cathedral, showing rescue workers carefully removing a damaged icon from the ruins.

"If you only knew how much Odesa hates you," he said.

"Not only hates you. Despises you... You’re fighting small children, the Orthodox church.

"Your rockets even fall on cemeteries.

"You must hardly know us Odessans. You will not break us, just make us angrier."

Another missile crashed into the House of Scientists, a mansion that once belonged to the Tolstoy family and was transformed into an institution to unite scholars and researchers.

A third hit administrative and apartment buildings, though no details have emerged if anyone has died or been seriously injured in the attacks.

Ever since Ukraine gained independence from Moscow in 1991, Odesa viewed itself differently than the country's other major cities due to its long, conflicted history and an outlook that stretched far beyond its borders.

Odesa’s past is intertwined with some of Russia’s most revered figures, including Catherine the Great, author Leo Tolstoy and poet Anna Akhmatova.

Its ports were key to last year's international agreement that let Ukraine and Russia ship their grain to the rest of the world.

In recent days Russia pulled out of a landmark deal - brokered by Turkey and the UN in July last year - allowing Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea.

Known as the "breadbasket of Europe", Ukraine produced enough food to feed 400 million people per year before the war, according to the World Food Programme.

Russia's withdrawal provoked concerns of a global food shortage for countries that rely on Ukrainian grain supplies.

Odesa's ports were key to the international agreement that let Ukraine and Russia ship their grain to the rest of the world.

Its Orthodox cathedral belongs to Moscow’s patriarchate, and its residents largely speak Russian.

And - at least until the Kremlin illegally annexed the nearby Crimean Peninsula in 2014 - Odesa's beaches were beloved by Russian tourists.

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