It is here on the charming Deribasovska pedestrian street that Viktor Oliynik has planted his easel to capture in pastel colours the wartime transformation of Odessa, whose architectural gems are now partially hidden behind sandbags.

Meanwhile, the city of Mykolaiv 130 kilometres (80 miles) to the northeast bears some scars from holding back the advance of Russian forces from occupied Crimea to the port city of Odessa.

After five weeks of war, the cities are barely recognisable even to their residents.

Turning his back to some of the Odessa street's emblematic sites, such as the former Bolshaya Moskovskaya hotel, an Art Nouveau jewel also known as the House of Faces for the decorations that adorn its facade, Oliynik attacked his canvas in the soft light of the late afternoon.

"I'm used to painting Odessa," said the artist sporting a three-day stubble and black beret perched on his head.

"But today I'm taking advantage of this situation, I never would have imagined such a scene," taking a second to point with his brush to the obstacles and fortifications along the street bordered by an elegant garden.

"This is how an epoch of chaos gives way to an epoch of equilibrium," he prophesied in a dramatic voice.

- 'Hurtful' transformation -

Further up the street, on the square outside the Transfiguration church, men are engrossed in games of dominos, chess and backgammon, oblivious to the sporadic wails of air raid sirens.

"It's really hurtful" to see the extent of the transformation of one's hometown, said Vladyslav Haidarzhi, 25, who has been volunteering to deliver aid to troops and hospitals in Mykolaiv.

"For example some of my friends who left Odessa on the first day of war and came back after one month were shocked," he told AFP.

"They were shocked to see that many roads are closed with different steel objects in order to make traffic of cars slower," he said.

"They could not believe their eyes."

- Urban deforestation -

Meanwhile, the centre of Mykolaiv is relatively unscathed despite the city being close to the frontlines, with one big exception: a missile strike on Tuesday punched a massive hole in the regional administrative building. It killed 28 people according to the latest count.

Nevertheless the city has been transformed.

For the past several weeks the sound of chainsaws has been heard along the main streets.

Hundreds of trees have been felled and left on the roadside.

With no official explanation forthcoming from the city authorities, speculation swirled as to why the trees were chopped down.

A local florist shared the most popular theories: to reduce pollen, widen the streets for military traffic, or to ensure fallen branches don't knock out electricity lines.

But one of the emergency services workers, Pavel Katsan, who was part of a clearcutting team, said he knew the real reason.

"We're cutting the trees to provide firewood for the Territorial Defence" units which have seen their ranks swell with civilian volunteers since the Russian invasion began on February 24.

"We cut down some in spring to reduce allergies," he confirmed. "But this year is different."

Residents remain stoic and defiant.

For the moment, the sandbag-filling operation on Odessa's beach for use in the city centre has been halted, said one of the volunteers.

"First we win, then we clean our city," Dmytro Kyryk AFP.

"And it will be better than before."

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