The espresso machine was warming up and Liliia Korneva was counting cash at the coffee shop in Kharkiv where she works when a powerful Russian bomb detonated nearby, sending up a deafening explosion and knocking her to the floor.
“I can’t describe in words how it felt, it was terrifying,” said Ms. Korneva, 20.
She was not hurt, though the courtyard where the bomb fell was destroyed and a man riding a bicycle nearby was killed, according to city officials.
Just a day later, the cafe was open again.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, is open for business, too, despite a sustained bombing campaign that is among the most devastating of the entire war and growing fears that Russia might launch a renewed offensive aimed at taking the city.
Persons:
Liliia Korneva, ”, Korneva
Locations:
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s, Russia