In Kharkiv, where Russian drones strike residential neighborhoods with little warning, women like Nataliya Fesyuk have become part of the city’s unseen infrastructure – supporting civilians and soldiers alike as the war grinds on. A few streets are still blocked off in Kharkiv’s Kholodnohirskyi district. Two or three hours earlier, a Russian Shahed drone struck this residential neighborhood in the west of the city. Burned-out cars stand between the apartment blocks, while police vehicles remain parked near the impact site. Firefighters move through the area, and emergency workers stand beside small tents where tea, snacks and psychological support are being offered. In the surrounding buildings, windows blown out by the blast are already being covered with wooden boards. It is the kind of scene Kharkiv knows too well by now: damage, shock, and almost immediately, people stepping in for one another.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
Workers unload wooden OSB boards in Kharkiv’s Kholodnohirskyi district to cover windows shattered by a Russian drone strike earlier that day. April 2026 (Photo by Korbinian Leo Kramer)
Residents and municipal workers gather in Kharkiv’s Kholodnohirskyi district following a Russian drone strike. Cleanup and repair work began almost immediately after the attack. April 2026 (Photo by Korbinian Leo Kramer)
