For five fear-filled days, residents of Kharkiv have listened to the rockets slamming into the fringes of their city and prayed that at least civilian areas would be spared.
But on Monday, at about midday, the moment they had been dreading arrived.
At least 11 people were killed in rocket strikes in residential areas of Kharkiv as both sides readied for a major battle over Ukraine’s second largest city.
The city council said 15 soldiers and 16 civilians were hospitalised, and that numbers of both dead and wounded were likely to rise. Interior Minister adviser Anton Herashchenko said ‘dozens’ had been killed.
