Fiona4Ukraine

After a relatively quiet couple of weeks in Kharkiv city (NOT in Kharkiv region, which is bombarded daily), there was a wave of missile attacks today: six altogether, between about 5 am and 6 pm. The first explosion I heard was whilst waiting in a queue inside the immigration office, with another volunteer and a translator, to continue the process of applying for a temporary volunteer visa. It may seem like dark humour, but it would have been ironic to have been hit by a bomb whilst doing this! After the explosion everyone was herded into a dark corridor, for relative safety, and our paperwork was checked by an official by torchlight. However, although the paperwork was correct, the visa couldn't be issued without the government computer system being in operation, which it never is during an air raid alert - and Kharkiv is under an almost continuous alert! (The longest, so far, on 21 July, was 1 day, 14 hours and 16 minutes .) After  3 hours of waiting, we were advised to return in...

 First published: May 27, 2024 This looks like such a peaceful scene - a beautiful city bathed in evening sunlight. But it's also a very sad scene because the flag is at half mast - it has been so for much of the past week, as the death toll in Kharkiv city and region mounts. There has been the daily bombardment of the border regions, which continues, leading to mass evacuations... There have also been, in the past week, a series of war crimes, perpetrated by Putin. On May 19 the Russian military hit a recreational centre - on the shore of a lake just north of Kharkiv - with two missiles; the second was 15 - 20 minutes after the first. A paramedic and a policeman were among the 27 wounded. Six people were killed, including a 7-months pregnant woman. On 23 May a Russian missile hit the Vivat publishing house (the largest in Europe) in Kharkiv. Seven printing house workers died and 21 more people were injured. On Saturday, 25 May, 2 glide bombs hit a huge, popular (especially on week...

Originally posted June 01, 2024 Kharkiv is a really beautiful city, with parks, churches, riverside walks, huge boulevards and some amazing buildings. You need to explore it properly as it's spread over a large area. Walking is best to fully appreciate it, and also to understand the level of destruction since the beginning of the full Russian invasion in February 2022. You don't walk down many streets without seeing the scars of destroyed buildings, many of them once beautiful. It's a city which grows on you... Unfortunately, the peace and beauty is too often shattered. On the night of May 31, shortly after midnight, there was another missile attack on Kharkiv, which hit a five-storey (as many are here) residential building, a shop and a sewing workshop. The Russians used their renowned double-strike tactic, thus targetting medics, police and other rescuers. Seven people are known to have been killed (two more women are thought to be under the rubble), including the securit...

Thursday was Vyshyvanka Day, the annual celebration of the traditional vyshyvanka embroidered clothing.  Despite the grim situation in Kharkiv and region, following Russia’s new offensive over the past week, some people were out in their vyshyvankas, e.g. in Schevchenko Park above. And nowhere were they seen more than in  Hell's Kitchen ... The situation in this region is said to have “stabilised,” according to President Zelensky, who recently visited Kharkiv. Russian forces advancing in Kharkiv region are, supposedly, creating a “buffer zone” to protect Russian border regions. Putin says that capturing the city of Kharkiv is not part of Russia’s current plan but who would believe anything he says? In the meantime, the plan seems to be to terrorise the city. Thursday, day and night, saw the longest air alarm in Kharkiv and region, thus far: 16 May 08:15 - 17 May 00:48 - 16 hours, 33 minutes! It was, as we say, a "noisy" night. A couple of loud bangs were frightening, and ...