By Serhiy Petrov
Today was also a relatively quiet day. There was shelling in the morning, which intensified in the afternoon (partly due to the fighting on the outskirts east of the city). In the evening, Muscovites were active sporadically, particularly because it rained.
The shelling hit Northern Saltivka and the rest of Saltivka, and Oleksiyivka. Even one of the churches of the ROC in Ukraine was hit, as well as the village of Zhukovsky and Piatykhatky. Some shelling aimed in the direction of Obriy (Horizon) and the Kharkiv Tractor Plant neighborhood. The rest of the city was quiet—even unsettlingly quiet. Yesterday, as a result of the shelling of Saltivka, a gas pipeline was damaged and gas was partially cut off. Public utility workers are repairing the pipeline under the fire. Public utility workers in Kharkiv are real heroes!
Also today, the nuclear research facility in Piatykhatky was shelled again. It’s hard to check its condition at the moment, because it’s in a dangerous area. The Muscovites want to create a nuclear catastrophe to justify a nuclear strike or the use of chemical weapons.
The Muscovites also shelled Drobytsky Yar, the site where the Nazis executed more than 20,000 Kharkivites in December 1941 and spring of 1942, 15,000 to 20,000 of whom were Jews. They destroyed the Menorah and some other objects of this memorial complex. “Denazification” Muscovite style: destruction of places of mourning and of fraternal Jewish cemeteries of the Holocaust.
Our military is clearing out the village of Vilkhivka, the center of the Vilkhivka village community, and its vicinity. It’s loud in that area today. In general, the Russists are being pushed out toward the Old Saltivka route. The Armed Forces took trophies and prisoners. That’s good. However, the leader of the Freicorps [Fraikor] volunteer unit, Georgy Tarasenko, and the former commander of the “Kharkiv-1” battalion, Sergei Yangolenko, have been killed in the battles for the eastern outskirts of the city. Unfortunately, today we lost many well-known military Kharkivites. Eternal memory to them. And we will definitely take revenge!
Also today, a rocket, a drone, and another Muscovite bomber were shot down near Kharkiv. Productive!
After an electronics store opened today, people rushed to it! Electronics had been brought in from other cities prior to this opening. In general, the center of the city was calm today. There’s a wide selection of products available in areas unaffected by shelling. While some of the chain stores may be missing some essential items (it varies from store to store), some have everything in stock. Things aren’t as rosy in the areas that have been under fire, where there is only a minimal selection of products.There aren’t many supermarkets that are open. Some supermarkets have been damaged, and some are in areas without power.
The biggest problem in the city is pet food, for cats and dogs. People literally score pet food through personal connections (like in the Soviet times). However, domestic cats and dogs generally have something to eat. People who remain in the city are feeding them. This is another feature of Kharkiv during the war: care for homeless animals. If dogs run away wagging their tails when frightened by explosions, cats radiate calmness, although they have become a little more timid.
Despite the danger, we continue to evacuate animals from the Feldman Ecopark (zoo). Eight kangaroos were extracted this time around.
Kharkiv residents have become accustomed to their new circumstances. They try to get everything done in the morning, and somewhere after 2 or 3 pm the city becomes deserted. By this time, most supermarkets and pharmacies close. You get the picture.
Musicians of the Kharkiv Music Fest project held a “Concert Among Explosions” in the Kharkiv subway today. Art is a great thing, even in wartime and under difficult living conditions. It’s hard to describe, but this is what artistic Kharkiv is like: we hold various art events in any circumstances, because the people and the artists themselves need it.
Meanwhile, a lot has happened out in the region, outside of the city. Fighting continues in Izyum. Attempts by the enemy to go around it are being blocked. The Muscovites also fired on the town of Barvinkove today. They hit one of the city’s schools and a cemetery. Five people died. As far as I can tell, they are trying to get to Barvinkove so that they can move through it to Slovyansk. They have already understood that they cannot go around Izyum.
In addition, the Muscovites fired on the central part of Balaklia, causing a fire. There’s been no contact for a few days with its mayor, Ivan Stolbovyi, and there is a speculation that he has been taken prisoner. The deputy mayor and another local official have also been captured.
Fighting continues in Rubizhne and so is shelling of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk. The Muscovites are trying to fully occupy the Luhansk region. According to available information, they are transferring a portion of their units in this direction (in fact, they’ve even announced officially that occupation of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions is the strategic goal of the “operation.”)
In Slavutych of the Kyiv region (an exclave in the Chernihiv region), there was a rally today in support of Ukraine, despite the Muscovites’ entry into the city. The city is under occupation. The first thing the Muscovites did was to disperse the pro-Ukrainian rally using stun grenades and machine guns. Three civilians are known to be killed. The Muscovites’ military is demanding voluntary surrender of non-hunting weapons. Yeah, right, in a hurry.
The 93rd Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other defense forces managed to liberate the town of Trostyanets. In the Kherson direction, the Armed Forces of Ukraine approached Snihurivka, which most of the Muscovites have already left. At the same time, Khuylo (translator’s note: this is a Russian pejorative for Putin) sent his greetings to Biden, shooting several missiles at Lviv and Dubno. Unfortunately, no region of Ukraine is safe. Some regions are relatively safer and quieter, and some are more dangerous. Unfortunately, there is no total security anywhere in Ukraine.
When the prominent pro-fascist figure Oleksandr Porhebynsky was searched, they found documents describing a fake poll, according to which, 46% of the population supported Khuylo.
This data, created in the interests of Mertvetchuk (translator’s note: this is a portmanteau of “Medvedchuk” and “dead man”), formed the basis of Khuylo’s belief about the need for “denazification.” In short, there are no words to describe how ridiculous this is. Muscovite agents in Ukraine provoked the war and ended up tightening the rope around Moscovia’s neck. Still, she must answer for it!! For years of inciting enmity between Ukrainians on the basis of language, faith, history, and Ukraine’s course toward Europe!!
Today’s Darwin Award goes to Margo Simonyan, the Muscovite “propagandonka” (translator’s note: this is a commonly used portmanteau of “propagandist” and “condom”), who on Muscovite TV admitted that Bandera’s views (meaning the pro-Ukrainian ones) represent the overall narrative that Ukraine’s population believes. They were convinced that it was just a small group of people forcefully dictating the terms of power. Not really, it turns out. At the same time, she hopes that quite a few people still support the thesis of a “one people.” Right…
Thanks to our military for yet another day. Eternal memory to those who laid down their lives for our independence and freedom. Let us support the army, the volunteers, the medics, the rescuers, and the public utility workers. Let us help each other and bring our victory closer!
