War in Ukraine: north of Kharkiv, desolation

We are advancing towards the front line north of Kharkiv (Ukraine). Impossible to go further, we come across these Ukrainian soldiers. They explain to us that we are 1 km from the combat zone. Mipro, 31, wants to take us to a neighborhood hit by a shell three days ago. You have to proceed cautiously, the site is monitored by the Russians: “Okay, we have five seconds to cross to the other side of the tracks. No stopping”. Behind this railway line, we discover a district completely ravaged by Russian artillery. In this area, Vladimir Putin’s army is resisting the Ukrainian counter-offensive: “It’s a normal view, every day from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. we receive gifts like that from Russia. This land is my home. They are brutes”. We can’t stay here any longer, we have to leave the place: “2 km at the end of the line there are the Russians”.

For several days this village has been the target of the Russians. We leave Mipro, which returns to the fight. On the road we meet Claudia, exhausted by the sound of bombs: “Tonight was the worst. My hands and legs are shaking. I don’t know how to live like this”. Claudia even had to bury her neighbor herself, killed by shrapnel. Today, despite this ordeal, Claudia does not want to leave. However, in the distance, a plume of smoke reminds us of the danger that reigns here. This shoe factory, transformed into a military base by Ukrainian soldiers, was the target of a Russian missile attack.