The rubbish collectors in Kharkiv wear flak jackets now. Several of their trucks are peppered with shrapnel holes from shells that landed during their rounds. The bins they empty are packed with the shattered, twisted remains of homes destroyed by explosions.
But still, every morning they go out to keep Kharkiv clean. Ukraine’s second city is perhaps the most-shelled target in the country after besieged Mariupol. Every day brings a hail of Grad rockets, cluster bombs, shells and missiles.
