U.S. weapons U-turn brings calm to Kharkiv

After the Biden administration allowed Ukrainian troops to use Western weapons in Russia last month, Kharkiv's residents are taking a breath as summer arrives.

KHARKIV, Ukraine — It’s a smoldering hot day and hundreds of people are out on the sandy shores of the beach that lines the Kharkiv River, sipping cold beer, playing card games or bobbing up and down to the sounds of the music that blaring in the background. They seem thankful for the reprieve of the river’s cool waters and a relative lull in the skies above.

But just miles from this ordinary summer scene, Ukrainian troops are battling the Russian army that swept across the border last month in a new offensive, and the distant sounds of bombs landing occasionally pierce the beachside tranquility.

Revellers enjoy the weather at a beach on the Kharkiv River early in June.Carlos Huazano / NBC NewsKharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, has been pummeled by Russian missiles and drones since the first days of the war, and the new Russian offensive appeared to put the city firmly in the Kremlin’s crosshairs. But since a U-turn from the White House last month allowed the use of American weapons to hit inside Russian territory just across the border, officials and residents told NBC News that a period of relative calm had set in. 

Some seem to be taking full advantage of it.

“The situation is dangerous every day, but you have to live; we have to distract ourselves from what’s going on,” said Oleksandr, 44, a meat salesman who was sunbathing at the beach with his young daughter, Vasylyna. “It stabilizes us psychologically a little bit.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/us-shift-calms-kharkiv-rcna157472

---