In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, near the Russian border, the frontline is only a few kilometers to the north and east, and several parts of the city are heavily shelled. Although a large part of the inhabitants have fled, many elderly people have remained in their homes and are struggling to obtain food. Volunteers have made it their mission to prepare meals and deliver them to these areas, between two bombardments.
With our special correspondents in Kharkiv, Mary Normand and Julien Boileau
Yurii and Andrii study their roadmap. The trunk of the car is already loaded. Meals, bread, some medicine. Equipped with bulletproof vests and handguns, the volunteers begin their rounds. The first stop takes place at a retiree’s house. ” I don’t want to leave my house, even though I’m very scared when it starts to shake “, she notes.
Then head to Saltivka, a district in the northeast of Kharkiv. Everywhere, there are destroyed roofs, roads strewn with craters, bits of glass, the scars of the last bombardments.
” Rockets fly all the time! »
” You don’t have to drag says Yurii. We spend no more than 3 minutes in front of the house of this man who welcomes us with a big smile on his face. The first Russian positions are 2 kilometers away. ” Rockets fly here, there, all the time! said the man. The situation deteriorates, the mission is cut short. While the strikes are increasing in Kharkiv in recent days, Andrii does not want to give up.
” I think the situation will get even worse, but we will continue to work and Ukraine will win! There is no other option “, he swears.
►Also read: Igor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv: “The situation remains tense”