In Kharkov, northeastern Ukraine, people live in basements. Numerous apartment buildings have been completely destroyed. The mall and kindergarten have also been ruined by Russian attacks.
Kharkiv, UKRAINE Marina presents the basement under a ten-story apartment building. He has lived here with his neighbors for over a month.
– It’s cold and humid here. Everyone is coughing, Marina notes.
In the early days of the war, there were minus degrees in the basement. Yet about twenty people packed to the ground floor to sleep.
It is not the actual basement built but only the space under the house.
The basement smells of mold. Outside, the sun warms up in early April, but the basement is still cool.
– There is no water and no gas or heating in this house. Volunteers bring us water and food. We are really grateful for that, Marina says.
Massive damage
When Russia attacked on the morning of February 24, the suburbs of the Horizon in Kharkov were the first targets. Russia fired on Kharkov from Russian soil as well as with fighter jets, and many rockets hit this suburb.
– The planes shot a lot in the first few days. Two missiles hit this. The house shook and we ran here. There were thirty people in the basement at the time, says Marina’s son Alexei.
Alexei says two people died in the yard. According to him, the fragment was cut in half by one of the men.
The devastation on the Horizon is massive. Several high-rise buildings have been completely destroyed, but the kindergarten, shopping center and many other buildings are also unusable.
– We were proud of our city, but look at this now. No more children or laughter. No one is walking. The elderly are stuck in their apartments without windows, ashes Aljona.
Aljona, together with her neighbors, cleans glass shards from the yard. They, too, have spent many nights in the basement during the war.
– Are they people who came here? They weren’t, Aljona says, referring to Russian soldiers.
Aljona, like other residents, is bitter to Russia. In Kharkov, Russia is the strongest mother tongue of almost everyone. The city is located only 50 km from the Russian border.
Still, everyone emphasizes that they have always been Ukrainians. They never wanted help from Russia.
– There were three sisters in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. How is it now? Russia itself has provoked hatred for them. We don’t want anything from them. Just go away to make our city as beautiful as before, Aljona says.
“The Russian speakers used to be all right here”
The nearby apartment building has caught fire. There is nothing left of the apartments.
Sasha therefore lives in the basement. He owns nothing but his clothes on.
– Fortunately, I was elsewhere when the Russians hit the house. Everything went on fire, money, items and clothes, Sasha says.
He shows his apartment. There is no trace of textiles. In one corner are the metal frames of a desktop computer. Everything else is burnt.
Russia also destroyed factories and many commercial premises in Kharkov. Hardly anyone has a job at the moment.
– I live in the basement and live on humanitarian food. What is this kind of life? Everything has been destroyed. All I have left is my clothes.
In the basement, Alexei, in his twenties, cannot tell about his plans for the future. There is no end to the end of the war.
Alexei does not understand the Russian attack and cannot forgive it.
– The Russian speakers used to be well here. People were happy. Went to work. Watched series on TV. They ate and went to sleep. Everything was fine before the Russians came. Ukraine did not want them to come, Alexei notes in a cold basement.