In Kharkiv suburb, return of Soviet-era trams is a step towards normalcy

Workers clean the tram tracks in front of residential building after it was hit by Russian shelling in Saltivka, a Soviet-era, working-class district of Kharkiv that took the brunt of heavy artillery shelling, as the tram service is set to restart amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine July 13, 2022. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

In Saltivka, a working class suburb of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, the trams are running again.

Built in the 1980s, the Soviet-era streetcars may look rickety as they rattle past war-damaged buildings, but for local people they represent a step back towards something like normal life in a district that came under heavy bombardment in the days following Russia's invasion in late February.