As Russia unleashed a massive air attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine civilians' resilience kicked in
Russia unleashed a wave of drone and air strikes on cities across Ukraine Monday, targeting infrastructure in cities like Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa.
KHARKIV, Ukraine — The text message was brief and straight to the point.
“Strategic bombers in the air … go to the shelter when missiles come,” an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told NBC News read the text that went out at around 7 a.m. local time (midnight ET).
Within minutes, the air raid sirens started blaring and people out in the streets rushed into shelters amid loud explosions, as Russian rockets and drones started to rain down.
At first the explosions were far apart and distant, but over five successive bursts they got closer and closer to Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city in the country’s northeast. The final one was quite loud.
A man stands next to a damaged house and car on a site following an air attack, in the Odesa region, on Monday.Oleksand Gimanov / AFP via Getty ImagesSimilar scenes took place in the capital, Kyiv, the southern city of Odesa and other cities across the country, Zelenskyy said in a statement on Telegram. It was Moscow's most intense strike in weeks.
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