Posted on 05/14/2022 2:03 PM Updated on 5/14/2022 2:04 PM
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At the front, the Russians continue to bomb relentlessly. Despite being exhausted, soldiers and civilians have no intention of fleeing and leaving their country.
We are approaching the front north of Kharkiv (Ukraine). Impossible to go further, we come across these Ukrainian soldiers. They tell us that we are 1 km away from the combat zone. Mipro, 31, wants to take us to a neighborhood that was hit by a shell three days ago. You have to move carefully, the Russians are guarding the construction site: “Ok, we have five seconds to cross to the other side of the tracks. no holding”. Behind this railway line we discover a district completely devastated by Russian artillery. In this area, Vladimir Putin’s army is defending itself against the Ukrainian counter-offensive: “It’s a normal sight, every day from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. we receive such gifts from Russia. This country is home. We can’t stay here any longer, we have to leave the place: “2 km at the end of the line are the Russians”.
For several days this village has been the target of the Russians. We leave Mipro, who returns to the fight. We meet Claudia on the street, exhausted by the noise of the bombs: “That night 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, who was killed by shrapnel. Despite this ordeal, Claudia doesn’t want to leave today. But in the distance, a cloud of smoke reminds us of the danger that prevails here. Converted into a military base by Ukrainian soldiers, this shoe factory was the target of a Russian missile attack.