Europe

[Visited: May 2023]

When I exit the Heroiv Pratsi subway station, I find myself in a part of Kharkiv where more than a third of all inhabitants of the city once lived. I am surrounded by the soulless apartment blocks that are so commonly found in former Soviet cities - the bulk of them were built in the 1960s and 1970s. I have come here because I have read that Saltivka was heavily bombed by the Russians. I buy a bottle of water and ask the lady how to get to the north side of Saltivka. It turns out that I have to take a small bus. As in the subway, the ride is free - and the van is full. On the way, I see some smaller damage here and there, but when I get off at the final station, I notice several things at once. First of all, there are almost no people on the streets. Secondly, I see badly damaged buildings. There is what might have been a café, riddled with bullet holes and signs of fire. I take out my camera and start taking pictures. An older couple, who were also on the bus with me, walk up to me and tell me to walk west and take as many pictures as I want.
It doesn't take long before I see more damage - much more damage. Every single apartment block has been hit, some worse than others - but they are all empty now. Well, filled with rubble. I see the scars left behind by fires, I see furniture pushed out of windows by a force from above, I see the angle at which a missile hit a building, I see concrete floors lying on top of each other like a triple sandwich. It is mostly grey and black - and then I notice playgrounds just in front, painted in bright yellow, red, blue and green to make the kids happy. All the while, I only hear the chirping of stones under the soles of my shoes. I hear pigeons flying overhead. There is no one left. At one point, my curiosity takes over and I walk into one of the apartment blocks. Inside, everything has been consumed by fire. The stairs seem strong enough, so I walk up a few floors. It is an eerie feeling, walking in what used to be people's homes just a year before. Where have these people gone? Are they still alive? Were they home when the missiles struck their home? I will never know the answers. What is that - a bag with shopping on the countertop of a kitchen? Completely destroyed, of course. Like the chair in the middle of a room - the rest of the furniture is gone. Burnt. I walk on rubble, and am careful where I put my shoes. I know this is not a good idea, but my desire to get a clearer picture of the horror of war dictates me to have a closer look.
I continue walking, see more apartment blocks, row after row. Destroyed. Burnt. Carcasses. Windows either gone, or replaced by cardboard. On the other side of the street: the ruins of what once was a gym. A little further on: a small shopping centre - completely destroyed. The gas station, also in ruins. The parking lot is empty, and I see small craters left by missiles who didn't hit a building - one after the other. They have been filled with earth, but this doesn't conceal the fact that missiles must have rained down on this neighbourhood. Were people walking here, perhaps fleeing from their apartment block just across the parking, after it was hit by a Russian missile? I cross the main road, and come to what probably was a street for car repairs. The small buildings are completely destroyed, and in one, I find a car which has scores of bullet holes. It has a Russian number plate, lying on top of the wreck. What has happened here? And so, everything I see has a story, every place I see is where people were suddenly struck, their lives changed forever, and I will never know their story. I can only imagine. And even trying to imagine makes me deeply sad. I walk back to the bus station, and am surprised to find the small bus quite full. Some people are apparently still living here. What will happen to Saltivka? Will it be rebuilt? Will those who used to live here, come back? And so, I travel back to Kharkiv with more questions than answers.

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Saltivka (Ukraine)

Saltivka > Ukraine > Europe

[Visited: May 2023]

Around the World in 80 Clicks