Sleeping Pills and Explosions Become Daily Menu in Kharkiv
The simultaneous reports from Kursk and Belgorod came days after the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced that the United States' M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) was put into service.
By
HARRY SUSILO DAN KRIS MADA DARI KYIV, UKRAINA
·5 minutes read
On Sunday (3/7/2022) at 04.00 a.m. local time, three explosions were heard in the center of Kharkiv City, located in a province in eastern Ukraine and adjacent to Russia. Standing next to a three-story building with brown brick walls on Shevchenka Street, the building is one of the targets of the latest attack in Kharkiv.
Belgorod, a province in western Russia and adjacent to Kharkiv, also reported several explosions on Mayakovksy Street at 03.00 a.m. local time. Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said 11 apartments and 39 houses were destroyed by the blast. By around 11.00 a.m. local time, five civilians had been confirmed dead.
Gladkov did not name the cause of the explosion. This was the first time Belgorod and Kharkiv had reported attacks at nearly the same time. In Belgorod's neighbor, Kursk, it was also reported that a number of rockets had been intercepted.
The simultaneous reports from Kursk and Belgorod came days after the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced that the United States' M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) was put into service.
Kyiv did not specify the location of HIMARS. The Ukrainian Armed Forces only repeatedly reported that HIMARS was operated in the eastern port.
Together with Luhansk and Donetsk, Kharkiv is part of the center of war in eastern Ukraine. Together with Sumy, the three Ukrainian provinces are located on the Ukrainian border with Russia. The four provinces' land border with Russia stretches nearly 2,000 kilometers. The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said the war was taking place in an area that stretched for more than 2,000 km.
In addition, there were also missiles, rockets and mortars.
Kharkiv and Luhansk have been the main targets of attacks in recent days. Russia fired more than 2,000 artillery shells per hour into the two eastern Ukrainian provinces. In addition, there were also missiles, rockets and mortars.
In addition to these two provinces, fighting also occurred in Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhia and Mykolaiv. The air strikes continued in several other provinces in Ukraine. Sumy, who is next door to Kharkiv, has become the regular target of the attacks.
Daily Routine
Attacks without casualties also occurred in downtown Kharkiv. The head of the Kharkiv regional-military administration, Oleg Synagubov, said the building on Shevchenka Street had been the target of an artillery attack.
According to Synagubov, explosions are part of everyday life in Kharkiv. "There is not a day without an attack," he said.
From 04.00 a.m. to 03.00 p.m., people in the center of Kharkiv heard at least five series of explosions.
“I have to take sleeping pills every day to sleep. I work from morning to evening. If you don't take sleeping pills, how can you sleep? Every night there must be an explosion, either far away or near,” said Tanya, a resident of Kharkiv, when she was met near Konnyi Market.
Even though he heard it every day, he was still surprised every time there was an explosion. “No one can get used to this horror. Today, the explosion may be far away, tomorrow we do not know if [the bomb] will explode near us. Look at this market and the complex across from it; they fell apart because of bombs," he said.
Opposite the market, there are several high-rise buildings. Some have been abandoned, while others are still partly used.
The attack in the early hours of Sunday in Shevchenka was evidence that downtown Kharkiv was one of the targets of the Russian attacks.
The owner and occupants of the building have not repaired -- among other reasons, for fear of further attacks. The attack in the early hours of Sunday in Shevchenka was evidence that downtown Kharkiv was one of the targets of the Russian attacks.
The deputy chairman of the Commission on State Institutions in the Ukrainian parliament, Olena Shuliak, said at least 800,000 Ukrainian families had lost their homes. The government had received 220,000 applications for renovation assistance. “More than 15 million square meters of houses were destroyed, mostly in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv and Cherniniv. Reports from Luhansk must be further verified," he said.
Negotiations
Special Staff to the President of Ukra Mikhailo Podolyak said the attacks on various civilian buildings were Russia's way of forcing Kyiv to negotiate again with Moscow. Since early 2022, Kyiv-Moscow talks have stalled and there is no sign of when they will resume.
A number of parties in Ukraine stated that the negotiations would start again at the end of August 2022. Until now, various parties in Ukraine have different opinions about the negotiations.
On several occasions, US President Joe Biden said that US and allied arms assistance was aimed at raising Ukraine's bargaining position in negotiations. Despite the assistance, Ukraine continues to lose territory.
On numerous occasions, Moscow has claimed that much of Washington's aid arsenal has been destroyed.
Kyiv and Moscow issued their respective statements about the condition of Lysychansk, the last-largest city in Luhansk.
Russian media reported that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin that all of Luhansk had been captured. Since a few days ago, videos of Russian soldiers and the militia of the People's Republic of Luhansk have been circulating in various parts of Lysychansk.
On the other hand, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration, Sergei Gaidai did not want to admit that Russia has captured Lysychansk. He only said that Russia already had a strong position in the city. However, fierce fighting was still going on in Lysychansk.
Slovyansk-Kramatorsk, which is part of the Donetsk area, is also increasingly being targeted by Russian artillery and missiles. It seems that the explosions of bombs will not soon disappear from the daily lives of residents.
(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi)