The sun was out, the cafés and parks were full, while everywhere in central Kharkiv there were signs of life, blossoming. A newly married couple posed for photographs, the bride bashful in a white dress. Students celebrated their graduation, giddy with the endless possibilities that stretched before them.
The frequent air raid warnings and the boom of distant shelling, grimly routine after more than two years of war, barely dented the mood. Not far from the bombed-out ruins of the main government building, a woman had kicked off her shoes, ordered a glass of wine and reclined in her seat to read a book. Later that evening football fans packed bars to watch Ukraine take on Belgium at Euro 2024.
Russia has subjected Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, to relentless missile strikes since the start of its invasion in 2022, targeting homes, shopping centres and other civilian infrastructure. The attacks intensified after the Kremlin’s forces achieved a breakthrough in the region in May and Russia began pounding the city with dozens of aerial guided bombs. At least 18 people were killed that month in a single attack, when two of the powerful bombs slammed into a crowded hypermarket.
Yet its people refuse to buckle. “Kharkiv is Unbreakable!” read the words, emblazoned on billboards, T-shirts, and car bumper stickers across this war-torn city, just 25 miles from the border with Russia. “This is the spirit of Kharkiv,” Ihor Terekhov, the city’s mayor, said during an interview in a secret reinforced location. “It’s very important that Kharkiv lives on, despite all the missile attacks.”
The authorities have done everything they can to try to persuade residents to stay, cutting taxes for businesses and providing free public transport, as well as free daily meals for Kharkiv’s most vulnerable people. Before the invasion, the city had a population of 1.4 million, which swelled to two million when students and temporary workers from surrounding areas were considered. Today the population is slightly more than one million.
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Taras and Yana Maslo, who had just got married in a small ceremony for family and friends, insisted that they saw their future in Kharkiv. “We are building a new era,” Taras, a 24-year-old soldier, said. “We are going to stay in Kharkiv, buy a home and raise children. We are not the only ones. There are lots of great couples doing this.”
“The most important thing is to be together and overcome all these difficulties,” Yana, 21, said. “If people stop creating families, there will be nothing left here.”
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That is clearly President Putin’s plan. Just hours later, a massive explosion shook the centre of the city, as a Russian missile crashed into an industrial zone. No casualties were reported, but officials barred journalists from visiting the scene. On Sunday at least one person was killed and nine others, including an eight-month-old baby, were injured in a Russian bombing of a post office terminal.
The dangers mean that schools have been closed in Kharkiv since the start of the invasion and most children study online. “It’s been difficult to learn when there are explosions outside,” Nikita, 17, said as he and his friends celebrated the end of their exams at Shevchenko Park, an idyllic sport in the centre of the city. “You feel burned out and apathetic, and you don’t want to do anything.”
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As Kharkiv prepares for an uncertain future, education is gradually moving underground. Makeshift classrooms have been opened at several metro stations and lessons take place against the backdrop of the rumbling of trains. The city also plans to open several newly built underground schools in September. Cultural events are likewise being staged in basements and bomb shelters.
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For outsiders, such developments may seem depressing, but for locals, they represent welcome evidence that their city is slowly adapting to new realities. “When we hear about such things, we rejoice, because for us this is an opportunity not to leave our city, not to leave our homes and to continue to live here. We just need to build our lives differently,” said Polina Chernenko, a long-time resident.
Despite the war, the housing market has continued to function, although property values are now half what they were before Russia’s invasion. The average price for a two-bedroom flat in Kharkiv is £35,000, while a studio flat goes for around £15,000.
“I agree it might look strange to be buying property while there is a war, but life goes on. And we all believe in our armed forces,” said Olena, who recently bought an apartment on the outskirts of the city for herself and her parents. “There’s an element of fear, though, of course.”
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Denys Sudilkovsky, a marketing director at the Lun estate agency, said lower prices had allowed many people to realise their dream of property ownership. “Their thinking is that they will have their own home, albeit at the cost of massive risks. This is also a way for people to ensure some stability in very unstable conditions.”
This mixture of resilience and resignation is not unique to Kharkiv. On Friday afternoon, shortly after The Times had arrived in Dnipro, a city 140 miles south of Kharkiv, a Russian rocket hit a block of flats in the centre of the city, destroying several of its upper floors. One person was killed and seven were injured. Just two blocks away, people continued to sit outside cafes, enjoying the sun.
“We heard the rocket above us before it hit,” said a waitress. “But everyone is accustomed to the fact that things like this happen. It’s sad, of course, but what can we do? This is our reality. We can’t spend all our lives in bomb shelters.”
Additional reporting: Kateryna Malofieieva
