On Tuesday night, two S-300 rockets landed in a residential area in the center of Kharkiv. While, fortunately, no one was killed, six people were wounded in the attack.

"We here in Kharkiv do not understand what they want to hit. They are not bombing military targets! Schools, hospitals and residential buildings are being hit. There are no soldiers there" said Natalia, a resident of the city.

The café next door has been hit twice before, and both times, the owners have rebuilt it. They hope the most recent attack will not put an end to their business.

"There aren't many people left in the city, that's why it's difficult. I thought it would get easier in the spring, but when spring came the power cuts started. We'd like to reopen, but we have to seriously consider it," said Nika, the café's manager.

The last time camera operator Kristjan Svirgsden and I were here in north Saltivka was two years ago, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Back then it was the most dangerous district in Kharkiv. However, now, reconstruction work is underway.

Before the full-scale invasion, Saltivka was the largest suburb in Kharkiv. Nowadays, you don't see many people here. "Saltivka is deserted. People have left because their houses were burned down. There is no water, gas or electricity," Ilia, another resident, said.

Ilia showed us a typical sign of the type people put on the door of their apartment before they flee. It's a plea for looters to not break the door, as everything of value has already been taken.

"When we escaped from here at the beginning of the war, we took everything of value with us so as not to leave it for the looters. At that time, they broke into the apartments and took everything away," said Ilia.

Reconstruction work continues despite attacks

"We understand that the Russians could launch something at us at any moment. We need modern air defenses. The president and the government have stressed this and our allies are working on it. However, we cannot just sit here and wait for the end of the war. We have to rebuild the city. People want to return to their homes. This is really important for the people of the city," said Mayor of Kharkiv Igor Terekhov.

With more than half Kharkiv's population having left since the start of the full-scale invasion, now a little under half a million people remain in the city.

"I have a daughter and she has a small child. We don't know what to do. We don't want to leave our city. We don't know yet what we are going to do," said Natalia.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!