Russian forces in Ukraine terrorizing civilians

162
1
Russian forces in Ukraine terrorizing civilians

KHARKIV, Ukraine — Yurii Kuzinskiy meant to take a nap in his bedroom. He fell asleep in the lounge chair in his kitchen in the haze of a hot Friday afternoon in late May.

A Russian missile crashed into his bedroom last Friday, pulverizing his home into an unrecognizable pile of dust and rubble. The kitchen corner where Kuzinskiy was sleeping was spared.

Kuzinskiy, 58, who had escaped with only a few scratches after waking up to his roof caving in, said he was frightened by the debris. Everything is gone. I am here. Although Ukraine pushed Russian forces back from Kharkiv in a successful counterattack earlier this month, Russian troops are still close enough to shelling the outskirts of the country's second-largest city, terrorizing residents like Kuzinskiy.

The Institute for the Study of War, a US based think tank, said in a recent update that even though Moscow prioritizes getting ground in the eastern provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, Russian forces are intensifying artillery attacks around Kharkiv, aiming to regain control of territory north of the city.

The booming sound of missile strikes echoed throughout Kharkiv every few minutes, which caused the attacks to escalate. Oleh Synyehubov, the regional governor, urged people to take shelter and said nine people were killed and 19 were injured.

Synyehubov said that the enemy is again insidiously terrorizing the civilian population.