The sound of artillery is still crashing in the air in Kharkov, only now it is coming out as Ukrainian forces push the Russians back to their own border. The persecution begins.
For nearly three months, it was mostly in the other direction, as Russia unleashed its armies and this old, historic city was among the first to be attacked. The border is only half an hour away by car.
Church bells, sirens and periodic shelling break the silence. War and prayer mix. Only a few of the traffic lights are working. Most companies remain closed. The nights are black and without light.
The Russians advanced all the way to the outer ring road, but never managed to encircle and occupy Kharkiv. Instead, they tried to subdue and punish him from a distance. Shelling. The missiles. Air strikes.
Rows of apartment buildings have become an unexpected line of defense, simply because of their location. Inside one, 39-year-old Maxim Karachenev was crying as he searched the remains of his family life. A new wall-mounted TV survived a rocket strike, as did jars of pickles and jam.
His wife and two children left in the first days of the war and ended up in the Netherlands. They are safe; it is broken.
“I think it’s over for Kharkiv,” he said, “but not for Ukraine.” The home he inherited from his grandmother comes down to memories of burnt walls and broken furniture.
Destruction is here and there, some of them targeted; some that seem random. Bureau of the Alliance of Trade Unions. Police and security building at the university. Kharkiv Regional Administration.
But also the block in which Claudia Petrona lived and still lives. Her apartment is only slightly damaged. Mostly her nerves suffer.
“It was awful one night,” she told me. “I packed all my things and went to the metro station, but a big bomb exploded and I couldn’t leave.
There is a presumption of victory in Kharkiv, and officials say several thousand people return home every day. On the other hand, if you drive 20 kilometers up the road, Ukrainian and Russian artillery batteries continue to trade in fire. It’s so close.
The Russians are backing down, that’s obvious, but it’s a military retreat that is preventing Ukraine from declaring the entire northern zone “liberated.” It is still not safe enough for people to return to their villages, which are largely deserted.
In addition to the legend and the fog of the war, a Ukrainian detachment achieved a vile propaganda triumph by heading to the Russian border and uploading the results on social media. A dozen soldiers, for all to see, put a marker in the blue-yellow color of the Ukrainian flag.
Not long after, the radiant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksiy published his own video congratulating the “gathered from Kharkiv” for their daring feat.
“I am very grateful to you on behalf of all Ukrainians,” he said. “My gratitude knows no bounds. I wish you all good health. Take care of yourselves. “It did a great job.”
Connect
Are you in Ukraine? Do you have a family in Ukraine? Are you or your family affected? Send dotcom@bellmedia.ca an email.
- Please provide your name, location and contact information if you would like to speak to a CTV News reporter.
- Your comments can be used in the history of CTVNews.ca.
Add Comment