It lies on the southwestern coast, near the Romanian border. Ukraine Odessa is one of Ukraine's industrial centers. Its refineries produce large amounts of petroleum products.
Factories make machinery, automobiles, airplanes, and motion-picture equipment.
Odessa is an important transfer point for rail and ocean transportation. The city is also known for its health resorts. Odessa is built in a circular shape and slopes down toward the city's harbor. A long, spectacular stairway leads up from the harbor. The stairway is called the Potemkin Steps in memory of the crew of the ship Potemkin, who mutinied in Odessa during the Russian Revolution of 1905.