A NEW ALEPPO?

From Kharkiv to Mykolaiv, the Russian onslaught has been fierce – but residents say they will not surrender

- Luke Harding LVIV

Ten days ago Kharkiv was a flourishing metro polis and home to 1.5 million people. It was, as resident Galina Padalko put it, “a beautiful place”. There were parks, a new German architect-designed zoo, thriving cafes and restaurants and a monumental central square, once adorned with a statue of Lenin. The city had several universities, international students, a ballet theatre and a cathedral that had withstood the past century’s darkest moments.

In a few savage days, Kharkiv was transformed into a living hell. Many inhabitants shelter underground in basements, metro stations and ground-floor corridors. Russian forces have relentlessly bombarded the city, pulverising apartment blocks and other civilian targets and threatening to turn Kharkiv into a new Aleppo, which also faced Russian bombing, or a 21st century Guernica. It has borne the brunt of Vladimir Putin’s rage.

“There is bombing the whole day, from morning to evening, ever since the invasion,” Padalko, a communications manager, said. “Our flat is shaking and vibrating. We have the feeling Putin wants to kill us totally, absolutely completely. It’s awful. He’s really crazy. Nobody can understand why he does this.” She added: “Kharkiv was the best place to live in Ukraine. Now we are terrified to look out of our windows.”