Kharkiv’s 1.4 million people decide whether to stay or go as Russia launches missile strikes
An apartment building in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, has been damaged after a reported shelling following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. No casualties were reported. Video: ReutersJust hours after Russian president Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine, and his first missiles struck military and strategic sites across this county of 41 million people, Liliya, Stanislav and their son Yarik were ready to leave their home town of Kharkiv.
It sounded like a justification for “regime change” in Ukraine, but Stanislav says he and his family do not intend to be away from Kharkiv for long. “The whole building shook,” Yelena recalls of the pre-dawn air strikes, which Russian president Vladimir Putin unleashed across Ukraine to try to cripple its military’s ability and willingness to resist his forces.
Liza Grigorenko and Felix Yevichev, who work in IT in Kharkiv, 35km from the Russian border, have no intention of leaving. Photograph: Daniel McLaughlin “I heard something at about 5am. It seemed like something had fallen in the street or the yard, but it must have been an explosion. But we’re not going anywhere, we’re staying.”“We’ve been here for almost two hours now, after we heard a series of explosions. We were told this is the safest place to be,” says Puja, as she sits with friends Jasmine and Swati against the wall of a metro station deep beneath the city centre.
“I left my flat at 7am and heard explosions. And then later, I had to go out again to get some essentials, and as soon as I locked my door I heard three more explosions – that’s why I came down into the station,” he says.
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