1000 Days: Eyewitness Discusses Current Situation in Kharkiv with Orda

Sirens, children going to school in a bomb shelter, shells flying into residential buildings and offices.

A thousand days have passed since Russia's war of aggression started. Russian forces carried out one of the largest air attacks before this milestone.

An Orda.kz journalist spoke with a Kharkiv resident who moved to Almaty after the outbreak of hostilities. Elena recently visited her homeland. The interview is from her perspective.

Nonstop

As soon as I entered Kharkiv, my phone immediately started buzzing with air raid siren warnings. They don't stop either, day or night. There's heavy shelling of the center, the industrial area, Zhukovsky and Saltovka.

No one is hiding anywhere anymore. People are simply catatonic.

Kharkiv residents joke that the biggest inconvenience is having to go to the bathroom and shower quickly; you don't want to be found naked or without pants under the rubble. 

The supermarket is running on a generator. The power is out everywhere.

Yes, some institutions, banks, shops close during an air raid. But how does this work? I was in a bank during an air raid. The doors were closed. But those who were already inside received calm service and were let out.

People have simply become accustomed to living under a constant, incessant howl. 

When Shells Hit Residential Buildings

Just the day before my arrival, a shell flew into my former classmate's house. She says that she was saved only because, at that moment, she was preparing canned food and was in the kitchen.

The shell flew in from the other side, and the windows and metal-plastic frame burst out. In almost all apartments, the windows are sealed with film so that the glass does not shatter. But after the impact, the entire apartment was in pieces. The utility service immediately arrived, put out everything, and cleaned up.

With the owners' approval, all the blown-out windows are covered with chipboard. 

My friend decided otherwise because she did not want to sit in a dark apartment, so they re-glazed the windows themselves. Those who agree then wait for the commission to come to assess the damage. Of course, these commissions are not enough. It happens that they wait up to two months for the assessment. And then, based on the results, the amount of damage is sent to a special electronic chart. 

Before that, one had flown into her father's house. His house had already been almost restored.

When they were clearing the rubble, they found an elderly woman's body in an apartment. She was holding a cat. 

The City

For the most part, public utility services work quickly. The city is very clean, well-kept, even blooming. Very clean.

If it weren't for the sirens, walking around Kharkiv wouldn't seem like it was constantly under fire. For some time, the streetlights didn't work, but when I left the city, they were turned on. 

The city is being built up. Under the bombing, nothing but cranes. Including the most shelled areas, such as Saltovka.

Many residential buildings that were severely damaged during the attacks have been completely restored. 

Kindness

Despite all the fatigue and everyone's constant stress, people are very kind, decent, and compassionate. Everyone is ready to help one another. In any situation, everyone, even strangers, is sympathetic, open, and not indifferent.

Despite everything, the city has retained its clean and cozy appearance.

When I arrived in Kharkiv, I decided to get behind the wheel of my old car.

When I peeked into the garage, I saw it was covered in cobwebs, and the tires were deflated. I looked around; there were some guys in the garage nearby. They helped. 

It turned out that my old lady's battery was also dead. So they gave me their spare, absolutely free.

The streets were not deserted. There were a lot of people. Including refugees from Kupiansk and Donbas, where active combat is. I even waited in traffic jams. 

Underground Schools 

It is very difficult for those with children. Schools mainly have online learning, which began during COVID-19. 

Schools and kindergartens are shelled regularly. And the Russian side claims "there were soldiers there" and so on. In my presence, the kindergarten where my nephews went was destroyed. 

A friend works as a security guard at one of the schools. I asked him, "Got a job?" He said, "You bet."

The school operates as usual, and the security guards work in shifts. All the teachers come to work every day and take assignments. Some of them teach classes directly from the school. Cleaners work. But the schools are empty; there are no students in them.

This year, my grandniece went to first grade.

For elementary grades, they set up underground schools in bomb shelters. Children are taken to school, but they study underground. All elementary grades study in bomb shelters.

Unfortunately, the rest of education is not fairing so well.

Online learning cannot replace the live interaction of students with both the teacher and their peers, not to mention how this affects the quality. Many say that children have lost interest in learning. High school students refuse to join classes, and only a few attend. Children let their education slide, and they cannot concentrate on online learning.

Haven't Noticed

I haven't noticed that there are noticeably fewer men.

It's not like everyone is at war. I mean, I can't wrap my head around it when men of draft age hide from mobilization. It's their duty. 

I myself, a woman of retirement age, am ready to go to the front. 

Many of my acquaintances, including my colleagues, are fighting. But many are not on the front, mainly because of health problems.

For example, I know a mechanic. I thought he would be one of the first at the front. It turned out he had a condition. 

Multiple operations on his ulcer with complications. That's why he wouldn't be a combat soldier. He said it would definitely not be to the front if he was called up. But so far, they haven't taken him. 

He goes there all the time, checking in. 

I know a young man who has a blind mother in his care. Maybe that's why he hasn't been called up. 

Business in Wartime

My former boss is also not serving; he walks with a cane.

He owns the pet store where I worked before the war. At the beginning of that winter, there was an attack on the office. The missile did not explode, but it went through the roof. 

During the impact, he was thrown into the wall, and his vertebrae shifted. The office was repaired. In wartime, they still managed to open new spots and expand their network. 

My boss, like many other business owners, instructed that the stores provide discounts to those returning from combat, from Kupiansk.  

It's amazing what variety of goods are on the shelves of grocery stores.

Yes, the variety is a little less than before the war. But more than here (in Kazakhstan). The prices are much lower than in Almaty. For example, for 640 tenge you can buy a jar of grated parmesan. Naturally, there is nothing Russian or Belarusian on the shelves.

Zelenskyy 

All my friends think of Zelenskyy with great respect, as they did at the beginning of the war. 

Many even pray for him. I myself consider him an exemplary politician. Many, of course, are upset that he dismissed Zaluzhnyi (former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine). 

I think there was probably some reason for this. 

Collaborators are also upsetting. For example, a first-grade teacher passed on to the Russians guidence for targets for shelling. This is beyond my comprehension, of course. 

The Mood

It's hard for everyone. I won't say that everyone is on edge.

They will endure everything.

But it is gloomy. Many say that they are not going anywhere. Now, they don't see the point in it. People have learned to live in war. 

Some bright people try to hold on and lift the spirits of others.

I have such a neighbor. She is about 80 years old and has a very sick heart, but her optimism does not run dry.

Thanks to her, the corridor is always tidy and cozy, flowers grow on the windows, and remakes of famous paintings hang on the walls. She makes the frames herself. She says that she lives because she believes that everything will change. 

But the majority of people have no hope left. It feels like no one believes in anything anymore.

This whole situation has turned into endless horror. People feel trapped in a neverending war. No one can imagine what will happen. 

But no one is going to give in. No one is going to break. 

Original Author: Aliya Askarova

All photos were provided by residents of Kharkiv.