UNESCO on Wednesday announced the historic centre of Ukraine's port city Odessa as a World Heritage, despite heavy opposition from Russia.
The port city is often described as "the pearl of the Black Sea" and finally it has been added to the list of World Heritage.
The 21 member states of the UN cultural body's world heritage committee approved inscribing designated areas of the city with six votes in favour, one against and 14 abstentions.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February last year, repeatedly tried to delay the vote to recognise the site's "outstanding universal value" and "the duty of all humanity to protect it".
"While the war continues, this inscription embodies our collective determination to ensure that this city, which has always surmounted global upheavals, is preserved from further destruction," said UNESCO director-general Audrey Azoulay after the decision.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who requested the listing in October to shield the city from Russian bombardment, welcomed the decision.
"Today Odessa got UNESCO protection," he said on Twitter.
"I'm grateful to partners who help protect our pearl from the Russian invaders' attacks."
Since the Russian invasion, Ukrainians have rushed to try to protect the city's monuments and buildings with sandbags and barricades.
The site was also added to the List of World Heritage in Danger, which UNESCO says "gives it access to reinforced technical and financial international assistance" to protect or, if necessary, rehabilitate it.
The agency added that it had already helped with repairs on the Odessa Museum of Fine Arts and the Odessa Museum of Modern Art after damage since the beginning of the war.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
