Amid the bombs, Ukrainians rediscover the beach

THREATS OF BALLISTIC missiles, drones and sea mines might ordinarily be enough to put holidaymakers off their buckets and spades. But nothing is so simple in Odessa, Ukraine’s good-time resort on the Black Sea. Two and a half years into war, its beaches are alive again with speedos, silicone and grandmothers selling shrimps and corn on the cob. Demand is so great that trains and hotels are sold out weeks in advance. Prices for the most expensive rooms at the prestigious Lanzheron beach have shot up to $1,000 a day.

Observing the rows of bronzing bodies from a rocky hill above the beach is Valentin Zakharchenko, a 74-year-old artist. He squats and squints in the sunlight, and makes tiny adjustments to the placement of his easel. What brings him here, he says, is a search for answers. He is not so interested in the sea—that is merely the background to his unfinished portrait of a young man sunbathing on the shore. No, he is much more interested in watching the seemingly relaxed people. “Don’t be fooled,” he says. “The state of war is present in everyone’s soul right now.”