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AGERPRES special correspondent Cristian Lupascu, reports: Insecurity everywhere. In houses, apartments, on the street or in the park. At the grocery store or at the coffee shop. At school or at work. On foot or in the car. In the center or in the suburbs. This is what the residents of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, just 40 kilometers from the border with the Russian Federation, have been feeling daily for two years now. The war unleashed by Vladimir Putin's army turned their whole lives upside down.
People in Kharkiv go to bed and wake up to the sound of sirens. Air attack alerts are heard countless times a day. On Monday, sirens were activated no fewer than six times. Tuesday nine, and Wednesday ten times. They have no way of knowing when a missile might fall, but especially where. There were "strategic" objectives, but also many civilian objectives, from houses and apartment buildings to schools and hotels. Testimony are the hundreds of destroyed buildings, some buildings with high architectural value, whose roofs or facades were damaged by bombs and missiles.
Victoria is 36 years old and she, like the rest of the population of Kharkiv, lives the terror of war. She admits she's afraid, but she feels powerless.
Lilia is 74 years old and, during the two years of war, she noticed how her life and that of her fellow citizens deteriorated. Her hope is now in divinity.
At 27, Vadim admits that "the sense of fear has atrophied". He admits that Ukraine finds it very difficult to fight, especially given the size of the Russian army. Now, he believes that negotiations and compromises are the solution to ending this war.
The insecurity among the civilian population is also confirmed by the authorities in the region.
"Missiles are constantly being fired at Kharkiv and people never feelsafe. Civilians cannot live safely and many have left," said Serhiy Bolvinov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Police's Criminal Investigation Department.
Amid the war, in Kharkiv, many small businesses were closed. The consumption of products and services has decreased significantly, with serious consequences for the local economy.
The city was, between 1917 and 1934, after the fall of the Tsarist Empie, the first capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
