No Place in the World like Kharkiv: The Ugly Scars that Russia has Left on the City I Love

There is no place in the world like Kharkiv. City of trading, city of students, always young, a little bohemian, never sleeping, always creative, always sparkling with street lights but at the same time very cosy.

#Kharkiv today is standing, holding on and still very much alive. Many citizens came back, many didn't leave. It's understandable, it's our home, we love it, we want to stay, we don't want to give up on it no matter how many rockets had hit it.

I drive through the city to see people roaming about their business, working, children are playing on playground, food stores and markets swarming with visitors. Few blocks away stands shattered building like an ugly scar russia left on the face of the city I love.

The guy I knew has died there. He worked there, it was his office building. He couldn't make it home before curfew and decided to stay the night. And russia hit it with a missile. It's a tragedy. One of many.

I can't express how surreal it feels driving through the city, seeing those shattered buildings, remembering those tragedies, seeing people drinking their coffee in the small cafes, realizing we could be in the next shattered building, anyone of us. Just accepting it.

Will things ever be back to normal? I believe so, we all do. As long as world keeps supporting us. Keeps helping us. Please don't give up on us, please don't forget about us.

Kate may be found on Twitter @BohuslavskaKate.

Kharkiv is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine. Located in the northeast of the country, it is the largest city of the historic Slobozhanshchyna region. Kharkiv is the administrative centre of Kharkiv Oblast and of the surrounding Kharkiv Raion. Its 2021 population was 1,433,886.