The bombs keep falling while weary Kherson still holds out

The city was liberated in November but the Russians have been bombarding it since from across the river

- Luke Harding KHERSON

Vitaliy Savchenko showed off the damage from a Russian shell that had landed right across the street. Shrapnel tore holes in his garage and blew off the kitchen door. There were three neat gaps in his car. "When it's a mortar you have five seconds to react. With a Grad missile it's a bit longer - about 18 seconds," he said. "A tank round is instantaneous. There's no time to hide." Savchenko lives in Kherson, the southern city triumphantly liberated on 11 November by Ukrainian forces.

He spent nine months under occupation. When friendly troops came down the main Ushakov avenue, Savchenko waved a blue and yellow flag he had hidden under the stairs, along with his mobile phone. The next evening he held a party with friends. The euphoria didn't last. The Russians retreated across the Dnipro River, a mere 800 metres away. Ever since they have been bombarding Kherson from the opposite left bank. At first they hit the city according to a rough time table: mornings and afternoons. Now they bomb it all the time. Nobody can predict when the next shell will fall, or where. Or on whom.

Earlier this month bombs landed on the railway line, residential buildings and a warehouse. One guard was killed and several people injured. An S-300 ballistic missile gouged a vast crater. Another projectile hit the Soviet-era jubilee theatre, where Savchenko had once watched a promising young comedian – Volodymyr Zelenskiy – perform his sketches. He also saw the English rock band Smokie play there.