Beneath the streets of Kharkiv (eastern Kharkov) in eastern Ukraine, at great depths, hundreds of people have taken refuge from the violent Russian bombings having “occupied” the Heroiv Pratsi subway station, where they do everything they can to feel comfortable.
From very young babies to the elderly, these people sit or lie on mattresses and blankets that have been placed on the floor next to vending machines, on station platforms and in parked wagons.
Some look at their cell phones, others wash their clothes which they then spread on the handrail of the wagons, mothers feed their babies and a man rushes by holding a kettle of water.
The scenes are similar in the public transport network in the most affected areas of Ukraine, although in Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, which has suffered some of the heaviest bombings since the beginning of the Russian attack, the number of civilians who have taken refuge in Metro stations are very large.
In the streets above the subway, where citizens stand in queues to get food when it is safe enough to do so, snow falls on the almost empty roads.
Nastia, a little girl lying on her makeshift bed on the floor of a train car, says she has been sheltered there for over a week.
He could not, as he explains, move enough as he had contracted a virus that was circulating among the population.
Asked what she would do when the attack stopped, the little one replied: “I will return home and finally sleep well. I long for that right now. I also want it to end as soon as possible. I’m afraid for my house, for my friends’ houses. I’m very afraid of the whole country and of course I’m afraid of myself. “
Valentina, an elderly resident of Kharkiv, says she took refuge in the basement because the area where she lived was constantly bombed.
The mayor of the city said today that Kharkiv is being bombed incessantly by Russian forces.
“To date, 48 of the city’s schools have been destroyed,” said Ihor Terehov. The city had a population of about 1.4 million in peacetime, although many fled in search of relative security in western Ukraine or to neighboring countries.
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