The situation in Kharkiv is alarming. Russian troops are continuing the random shelling of the city. The central square of Kharkiv has suffered multiple rocket attacks.
Kharkiv is the capital of Ukrainian Constructivist architecture. At the moment, “Gosprom,” the landmark Constructivist building in Freedom Square, is under dire threat. Please see my article in tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal for more details.
A shell damaged the Assumption Cathedral (Russian Orthodox Church), one of the oldest churches in the city. The stained glass windows have been partially destroyed, and some icons and ecclesiastical objects have been damaged. Vladimir Putin has said that the Russians have come to Ukraine to “protect members of the Russian Orthodox Church from Ukrainian oppression.” The destruction on the ground would seem to contradict this.
According to some reports, the town of Izyum on the Donets River in the Kharkiv region has been heavily shelled. The town has an open-air display of so-called kurgan stelae, as well as four churches. Among them is the Cathedral of Transfiguration, which was built in 1684 in the Ukrainian baroque style.