UNESCO included the historic center of Ukraines port city Odesa, often described as the pearl of the Black Sea, to its World Heritage List on Wednesday, conquering opposition from Russia.The 21 member states of the companys world heritage committee approved inscribing designated areas of the city with six votes in favor, one versus and 14 abstentions.Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February in 2015, consistently attempted to delay the vote to recognize the websites exceptional universal value and the task of all mankind to safeguard it.

While the war continues, this engraving embodies our collective decision to guarantee that this city, which has constantly prevailed over worldwide turmoils, is protected from further damage, stated UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay after the decision.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who requested the listing in October to shield the city from Russian barrage, invited the decision.

Today Odesa got UNESCO defense, he tweeted.

Im grateful to partners who help safeguard our pearl from the Russian intruders attacks.

Since the Russian intrusion, Ukrainians have rushed to attempt to protect the citys monuments and structures with sandbags and barriers.

Odesa-- situated about 500 kilometers (310 miles) from capital Kyiv, which sees regular air campaign from Russian forces-- was likewise contributed to the List of World Heritage in Danger.

That classification gives it access to strengthened technical and financial global help to safeguard or, if required, rehabilitate it, UNESCO stated.

The company included it had currently aided with repair work on the Odesa Museum of Fine Arts and the Odesa Museum of Modern Art after damage considering that the beginning of the war.France applauded UNESCOs choice, highlighting in a foreign ministry declaration the extraordinary value of this port city, its architecture and its history for Ukraine and for humanity.

The decision to inscribe Odesa highlights the risk posed to Ukrainian heritage by Russias war of aggressiveness, the ministry said.

It included that because the intrusion, over 230 cultural websites have been harmed or destroyed.Political tensionsOdesa progressed after Russian Empress Catherine the Great decreed in the late 18th century that it would be the nations modern-day maritime gateway.But the level of Russian cultural impact on the city is a controversial topic.Tensions had actually risen ahead of the UNESCO vote, with Ukraine challenging what it viewed as a politicized description of the port city in a draft choice that explained Empress Catherine II as having actually founded the city.Ukraines Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko and Odesa mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov contested this in an open letter seen by AFP, stating that the city prospered long prior to the Russian empresss arrival.

The continuous advancement of Odesa as a port city go back to the 15th century, they stated, including that it was called Hadzhybei.But Russian President Vladimir Putins propaganda used the myth of the founding of Odesa by the empress, which appeared in the 19th century, as one of the grounds for Russias territorial claims on Ukrainian cities and the beginning of its armed aggressiveness, they included.Glorious pastRussias representative to the world heritage committee on Wednesday consistently slammed what she referred to as a bad application dossier from Ukraine, declaring it was mainly drawn from Wikipedia and tourism websites.The agent also implicated Ukraine of destroying monoliths in the area it looked for to secure, and tried unsuccessfully to indefinitely adjourn the vote.After the decision was adopted, Russias objective to UNESCO claimed in a declaration it had been taken under pressure from the West and overlooking guidelines of treatment.

It seethed that the world heritage committee had ceased to be a platform for expert discussion, and the world heritage status had become a bargaining chip for settling political ratings.

In Moscow, Russias Foreign Ministry accused a group of Western nations of pushing through what it called a politically inspired choice in offense of standard procedures.

It was ready hastily, without appreciating the current high standards of UNESCO, the foreign ministry stated, worrying that simply six countries voted in favor.Moscow indicated the remarkable historical past of Odesa as part of the Russian state, firmly insisting that the only threat the port city faced was from the nationalist regime in Ukraine which has taken down a variety of monuments.In December, Ukrainian authorities in Odesa took down a statue of Catherine II as part of its efforts to de-Russify the city, after ballot locals on what to do with it.Six other Ukrainian websites have actually already been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, consisting of the Saint-Sophia Cathedral in the capital Kyiv and the historic center of the western city of Lviv.