Mayor of Kharkiv: "We need to close the sky over Kharkiv"

Kharkiv's mayor, Ihor Terekhov, told Euronews that despite the recent Russian offensive being halted by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the situation in Ukraine's second-largest city remains critical. 

"Unfortunately, the situation is complicated, because unfortunately, we have attacks every day. Every day, we hear explosions in the city of Kharkiv. Almost every day people are killed, wounded, and the destruction is enormous. The enemy shells Kharkiv every day," he explained at last week’s Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin, where energy infrastructure and the situation in Kharkiv were at the forefront of topics discussed.

Despite Russia's increased attacks in the Kharkiv region lasting weeks during May, Terekhov said that to his knowledge, not a lot of people have left Ukraine’s second-largest city.

"Some people left, but it wasn't a huge number. Most people are staying", he added.

The Ukrainian military is gradually pushing Russian troops out of Kharkiv Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on June 17. According to Zelenskyy, Russian forces have suffered around 4,000 casualties during their latest offensive.

Terekhov was born in Kharkiv, and now as the city’s mayor, he revealed his favourite thing about the city. "The best in Kharkiv are the Kharkiv residents", he said and emphasised that this is why "we need to work together to protect Kharkiv and to rebuild Kharkiv and restore life back to normal, as it was before the war."

Missiles, glide bombs, and drones have been used to destroy energy infrastructure and kill civilians in Kharkiv and its residents have been forced to endure air raids, which last an average of 16 hours a day. Terekhov knows the toll this takes on residents' mental health, explaining that for the