The people of Kharkov seek normality despite the resumption of bombing by Moscow troops
Anti-aircraft alarm sounds in the center of Kharkov. It’s a piercing sound that cannot be ignored. If someone has not burst their eardrum, this is followed by a warning for all connected cell phones in the area. But residents of Ukraine’s second-largest city don’t seem impressed. “At the beginning of the invasion, we ran out and took refuge in bunkers and cellars. But now we’ve learned that it doesn’t make much sense to do that. If it’s written and a rocket falls on you, there’s not much you can do. But you can’t live in fear that long, and the sirens go off many times throughout the day,” said Ivanka, who continues to walk her dog through Shevchenko Park.
A few tens of meters away is the clearest example of what happens when the alarm is justified: it is the town hall building, turned into a hollow shell since a rocket hit one of its sides. The facades are still standing despite the hole it caused, but the interior has been destroyed. And the same is happening with numerous buildings in the nearby streets.
When the sirens are followed by the sound of not-so-distant explosions, diners at the Georgian restaurant Toy Samyy Baranets don’t seem to have any intention of moving either. Not even if the lights flicker with every bang. In the establishment, the music is cut and a waitress dressed in the typical Georgian costume goes table by table warning customers to go to the building’s bunker until the alarm is sounded, but only a few move. The rest continues as if nothing happened, and several men at a table even confront the young employee. “You have no authority to ask us to leave!” someone snaps at her before she leaves with bowed head.
Ivan is also not closing his beach bar on the desolate Plaza de la Libertad. He has a small trailer that he has converted into a mobile canteen, but he will not move it because of the Russian bombs. “If they kill us, you’re out of luck. But resisting is also living a normal life. They want to intimidate us, so they mainly bomb at night. If they don’t, it’s a win for us,” he says, preparing a cappuccino to go. Of course, he acknowledges that there aren’t many customers. so good with business,” he says.
Happier are the few supermarkets that remain open. That of ATB, near University Hill, is protected by sandbags and wooden windows, but brings the neighbors to life. “To encourage people to return, there must be services. Otherwise they can’t do anything,” says one of the cashiers.
Many of his customers line up with AK-47s on their shoulders, an image that has since become commonplace in the east of the country. “The military and territorial forces are now sustaining the economy, but I hope we will be surprised again soon to see someone with a rifle and camouflage clothing make the purchase,” the employee concludes as soon as he fires a soldier who bought a royal amount of energy drinks.
Source: La Verdad
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