A tense atmosphere floats in the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine. Not without
reason tension smothered the entire city. Just about 40 km from Kharkiv,
tens of thousands of Russian troops have gathered at the border and are
believed to be able to invade the city on orders from Moscow.
If Russia did decide to invade Ukraine, then Kharkiv would be the first city
in Ukraine to come face to face with Russian troops.
If Russian ground troops invade the city of more than 1 million people, some
Kharkiv residents say they are ready to leave their civilian lives behind
and wage a guerrilla war against one of the world's largest militaries.
Read: Ukraine Warns Full-Scale War If Russia Attacks An 18-year-old young
man, Anton Dotsenko, admitted that he had been training with his colleagues.
They were prepared if the Russian invasion did happen.
“Kharkiv is my home and as a native of the most important city I have to
protect. Kharkiv is also a frontline city, which is economically and
strategically important," he said, as quoted by AP, Tuesday (1/2/2022).
“Both our generation and our children are ready to defend themselves. It's
not going to be an easy war," said Maryna Tseluiko, a 40-year-old baker who
signed up as a reservist with her 18-year-old daughter in Kyiv.
“Ukraine has a rich tradition of guerrilla warfare. We don't want to fight
Russia. It is Russia that is fighting us," he said.
Another Kharkiv resident, Svetlana Putilina, 50, said she had arranged
contingency plans for her family and unit. He had already decided who would
take the children to safety outside the city.
It has also determined who will accompany elderly parents and grandparents
to one of hundreds of mapped bomb shelters.
"If it is possible and our government provides weapons, we will take them
and defend our city," Putilina said.
But if the government doesn't give him a gun, Putilina still has one of her
husband's official weapons at home and she now knows how to use it.
Elsewhere in Kharkiv, Dr. Oleksandr Dikalo, a dentist in Kharkiv also
prepared to face the Russian troops attack. Dikal served as a soldier in the
Soviet Army when he was stationed in East Germany.
“If God forbids something to happen, we must stand up and protect our city.
We must work hand in hand against the aggressor," said Dikalo.
At 60 he was too old to join the civil defense units set up across the
country, but he was ready to act to prevent Kharkiv from falling.
The guerrilla warfare waged by dentists, trainers and housewives defending a
hometown of a thousand underground shelters will be a nightmare for Russian
military planners, according to analysts and US intelligence officials.
“Russia wants to destroy Ukrainian fighting forces. They don't want to be in
a position where they have to occupy land, where they have to deal with
civilians, where they have to deal with insurgency," said James Sherr, a
Russian military strategy analyst.
