Night one in Kharkiv [March 30, 2023]

Since the beginning of the invasion, Kharkiv streets have been dark. Months after the battle for Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv observes strict light discipline at night.  Only recently did the city return lights to 21 pedestrian crossings, but a city-wide curfew remains in effect from 11 PM until 6 AM, beginning an hour earlier than the Kyiv curfew. That means it is forbidden to be out on the streets past the curfew and is enforced by police units tasked with patrolling the streets.

When we arrived in Kharkiv at 10 PM, the only lights on the street came from the few headlights driving around. The hotel we stayed at appeared completely blacked out. The front entrance was blocked off and a hotel employee had to be called upon arrival to come and guide us into the building’s underground parking (which doubles as a shelter during air alarms). The shelter clearly gave the impression that it was used far more frequently than those in Kyiv- the hotel had a massive lounge area with a coffee pot, water jugs, and table lamps scattered about.

Upon entering the hotel, what seemed to be an abandoned building from the outside was a fully functioning hotel. All lights were on, the bar was open, and there were several groups lounging throughout the lobby. That’s the reality of the city’s policy of night discipline. While many of the apartment buildings seemed deserted (and many are) the amount of people walking around the streets the next morning proved the city is very much still alive. 

Driving out of the city, the toll from the Battle of Kharkiv is incredibly visible. Many windows remain boarded or taped, there are blown-out chunks of apartment buildings, and broken glass still dangles from apartment buildings.

The night after we left Kharkiv, the city was struck by multiple S-300 missiles fired from the Russian city of Belogrod. No one was killed in the strikes which authorities said damaged private houses and two civilian vehicles. Three civilians were injured. Take a look at this video from the regional military prosecutor’s office to see some of the damage.

The photographs below were taken on my first visit, where just a brief drive through the city revealed the evidence of war.

I returned to Kharkiv a week later to photograph the devastation inside the city. Those images will come later.