A Year in Kharkiv

One year ago I drove into Kharkiv on a day much the same as in the photo above, taken this evening, with a clear blue sky. My co-driver had to try to direct me because there was an air raid alert, during which satellite navigation often does not function. I remember driving across impossibly huge squares, having no idea in which direction traffic was supposed to go!

Today the air raids continue, day and night, and now those huge squares are familiar and beautiful to me. Kharkiv felt very different from Lviv and Odesa, where I lived previously - the enormity of the spaces, the Soviet-style architecture - but it soon grew on me and has become my favourite city in Ukraine. Of course, it's always people who make the difference and, in Kharkiv, I've felt the welcome and friendliness of people more than anywhere else. There's also a slightly crazy, anarchic feel to this city that I think has always been present, and may have been enhanced by people's experience of trying to live a normal life in a completely abnormal situation - by day/early evening, walking in parks, taking selfies, shopping, going to the gym, eating in excellent restaurants, and if you're young, hanging out in and around shopping malls...whilst by night the city is plunged into darkness up to an hour before the 11 pm curfew, after which the fear of the sound of drones overhead is magnified and bombing raids are more likely. There are the strange online conversations with my good friends who look out for me - "Fiona, get to tub!" - meaning my bath tub, which is the safest space in my apartment when the city is under attack.

There can't be many people who still believe that Putin has any intention of ending the war he started against Ukraine (unless his maximalist demands are met). But if there were any doubt, last month's statistics, in Kharkiv city alone, put that to rest. On 1 May Kharkiv's mayor, Ігор Терехов (Igor Terekhov) posted: "This month was one of the most difficult for Kharkiv since the beginning of the Great War. We survived 136 Russian strikes. This is an absolute record. The enemy did not stop. He fought in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, at night. Without a break. Around the clock. Drones are launched in groups, in several waves with minimal intervals, to strike by surprise and complicate the work of air defense forces. Every raid causes injuries, deaths, and destruction. On a scale like the beginning of the Russian invasion. 230 injured, including 19 children. 7 dead. And among them is also a child."

On April 24, there were 10 missiles and 14 drone attacks, which was the biggest combined attack since the start of the full-scale invasion.

The destruction can seem minimal, from windows being blown in due to the impact of explosions - but consider that exploding glass fragments can travel at speeds potentially exceeding 900 mph, depending on the blast pressure and the distance from the explosion, which is why we are advised to stay away from windows during attacks. Up to 85% of injuries from an explosion are due to flying glass. (Wikipedia)...

...to this

...and this

(Above photos from Suspilne media, following the 24 April attacks)

As the mayor reports, the destruction includes residential buildings, schools, kindergartens and manufacturing plants..."The problem of broken windows is particularly acute - about one and a half thousand...All the damaged ones have already been closed [covered]. But the issue of full glazing remains very relevant. We are negotiating with international funds - we are looking for support for Kharkiv."

My first and lasting physical impression of Kharkiv is the extent of destruction from bombing - wherever you go, barely a street has escaped. Some districts were particularly savagely attacked at the beginning of the full invasion, including the area where I live, when Russia tried to take the city of Kharkiv. I always try to notice these buildings, within half a mile from home, many which I pass on my way to work. It feels important to do this, as a way of remembering the lives lost, or uprooted and changed forever. 

I don't know how much money will be needed to rebuild everything Russia has destroyed since the beginning of the full invasion. A year ago Kharkiv mayor, Igor Terekhov, estimated the cost to be over $US 10 billion. There has been a lot more damage since.

Throughout the deaths, destruction and upheaval, Hell's Kitchen has been a constant, vital background presence, since day 2 of the full invasion, providing daily, fresh food for hospitals, internally displaced people and others in need, including soldiers. Volunteers range from the very young...

...to those from abroad

...and those from Kharkiv, many of whom have been here from the start.

Financing the kitchen has become increasingly difficult due to the withdrawal of USAid from our main funder, and so other donations are relied on more than ever. We cannot thank enough those people who have donated, many of whom continue to do so.

Just after 9pm, nearly as regular as clockwork these days, an air raid siren sounds...drones are overhead and there is an explosion in the city, which has turned out to be the first of many.

To make a donation, please:

Open PayPal and, when asked for email, enter sunflower_house@hotmail.co.uk

These are the causes to which I regularly donate - you can specify where you would like your money to go, otherwise I will send it where I think the need is greatest:

Adults For Children supports families displaced by the war.

Hell's Kitchen - funding for daily, nutritious meals for hospitals and other people in need.

Franklin, Hell's Kitchen foreign volunteer coordinator, supports local soldiers and medics.

Fabric for camouflage netting, ghillies and stretchers/seamstress costs 

If you would like to donate to a charity that support animals - Animal Rescue Kharkiv