Russian bombardments have destroyed a Chabad-operated Jewish school in Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa and severely damaged a nearby orphanage sheltering over 100 children.
The overnight strikes rendered the “Or Avner” school unusable following a direct hit, while the adjacent “Mishpacha Ukraine” orphanage—home to 124 children—sustained significant damage. No casualties were reported in either facility.
Rabbi Avraham Wolff, who heads the school, described the moment of impact with stark immediacy. “We had barely managed to close the door when the massive explosion hit. It shook the entire street,” he told Chabad.org.
The destruction forces educators to improvise in the aftermath of conflict. High school students will now share makeshift classrooms, corridors, and shelters with younger pupils as the institution attempts to maintain educational continuity amid the devastation.
Chaya Wolff, who oversees the local Chabad school network, acknowledged the hardship while projecting resolve. “It’s difficult, but we will adapt,” she said.
The Chabad network in Odesa has functioned as both an educational institution and a lifeline throughout the war, providing schooling, welfare services, and refugee assistance to the community. The organization has weathered previous destruction before and signaled its determination to do so again.
“We have rebuilt before,” Rabbi Wolff said. “We will rebuild again.”
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
