Uriel Epshtein is the CEO of the Renew Democracy Initiative, which publishes The Next Move.
Kharkiv is a city of cognitive dissonance.
Located in eastern Ukraine, just over the Russian border, Kharkiv has borne the brunt of Russia’s onslaught. Moscow targeted the city in 2014 and again in 2022, when Russian forces occupied much of the Kharkiv Oblast (province) until Ukraine was able to liberate the territory.
Despite Ukraine’s military success, Kharkiv city (and the rest of the oblast) remains under fire today.
In Kharkiv, military vehicles share the road with sports cars. You’ll see an elegant restaurant that wouldn’t look out of place in Soho or Georgetown. Across the street from that restaurant, you’ll see a bombed-out building or a crater.
A quarter of the city’s buildings have been destroyed. Yet I watch municipal workers whitewashing the trees lining the streets. It’s a measure designed to protect the trees from pests and environmental damage. Amid all of the missile and drone attacks, the people of Kharkiv still care about their hometown’s appearance. That commitment pays off: The city—minus, of course, the areas where Russian forces have struck—is genuinely clean! Certainly, it’s better-maintained than much of New York City.
Above all, Kharkivites are proud of their resilience. We see that strength—sometimes grim, other times optimistic—on display everywhere we go.
Allow me to illustrate that spirit for you as best I can.
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