KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — It came at exactly 3 a.m. Monday: a flash of light streaking over the city’s darkened streets, then the massive blast, shaking walls, rattling windows and waking those few who had managed an already-troubled sleep.
In the last couple of days, this city in eastern Ukraine had seen relatively few strikes, this despite the persistent sounds of artillery thudding somewhere in the distance, too far to tell from where but to which residents would almost hopefully say “nasha” — ours.
But the Monday morning explosion was another unnerving reminder (not that any was needed, with almost all shops shuttered; two hotels barely operating; most windows boarded up or shattered; and sirens wailing the same sustained note for hours) that Kramatorsk is firmly in the firing line of advancing Russian forces.
