I prepared to say something more encouraging, but this morning around 5 am the Russian military fired upon strategic facilities in Kharkiv, my hometown, where my family still is, 20 miles from Russia. I write to you from my university across the country, in Lviv.

My parents saw fire and smoke from our kitchen window, the one about which I recently wrote in my essay about Kharkiv, fate, you know, but we’re staying calm because when you live 20 miles next to Russia it is a constant headache.

Around 7 am our windows were shaking because of shelling and after that, my parents heard automatic bursts. Four enemy tanks were destroyed nearly 1 and a half miles next to my house. The mood of Kharkivians is very polar: some are hurrying to leave the city, some standing in queues to pharmacies and groceries. Around 12 am all pharmacies and shops near were locked and shelling are continuing with half an hour or hour break.

Some, like my parents, pack alarm cases, calmly check the serviceability of guns, walk pets, and continue to stay in Kharkiv. I left Kharkiv 5 days ago to study, and I don’t know, whether I will return. My parents don’t even plan to flee. «Our home is here», my mother said. And I want Putin and Russia to realize it too. Our home is here, and we are fighting for it.

By Kateryna Bortniak

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Lviv Now is an English-language website for Lviv, Ukraine’s «tech-friendly cultural hub.» It is produced by Tvoe Misto («Your City») media-hub, which also hosts regular problem-solving public forums to benefit the city and its people.