Kharkiv in north-east Ukraine is the second-largest city in the country after Kyiv. It’s also the only city that has been shelled continuously since the Russian invasion started on 24 February.
Andrei Krasniashchikh, a leading Ukrainian writer, called Kharkiv home for years – but on 21 March he finally left the city, fleeing with his elderly parents. His wife, daughter, mother-in-law and their cat had left four days earlier. They joined close relatives in the city of Poltava. That central Ukrainian city is now home to tens of thousands of displaced persons, who live in school gyms and assembly halls, kindergartens or apartments if they can find one.
Compared to Kharkiv, Poltava is “paradise” – almost a peaceful life.
