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While sheltering from bombs in a bathroom in Kharkiv, Ukraine, an English teacher told Fox News that Russian forces have been exclusively aiming at civilians in Kharkiv for days.
A view shows the area near the regional administration building, which was hit by a missile according to city officials, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released March 1, 2022. Press service of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
“They have been bombing since morning, only districts where civilian people live, where there are no militarily forces,” Julia Laesser said. “Just local flats, supermarkets and some small shops.”
“They are bombing civilians,” she continued. “We have a lot of people, a lot of people who died in the streets, a lot of people who are hurt.”
WATCH:
A Russian military strike on Tuesday hit the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city and home to about 1.5 million people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack a war crime and said it was an act of “undisguised terror” that “nobody will forgive, nobody will forget.”
The Ukrainian national flag is seen in front of a school which, according to local residents, was on fire after shelling, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022. REUTERS/Vitaliy Gnidyi
(REUTERS/Vitaliy Gnidyi)
Laesser told Fox News her and her family are just “praying to stay alive.”
She is sheltering in Kharkiv with her family, including her 8-year-old nephew.
“He’s afraid” and “crying,” Laesser told Fox News. He’s “constantly asking me: ‘Are you afraid? Are you afraid? What is going happen? When is it going to stop?'”
“I don’t want him to see my feelings,” Laesser said. “I’m afraid, of course. I am a normal person, I’m afraid.”
“But I’m getting angrier and angrier with every day, and I am hoping that the world will stop Putin, somebody will do something to make him stop this war,” she added.
A view shows the area near the regional administration building, which city officials said was hit by a missile attack, in central Kharkiv, Ukraine, March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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“We just hope that this well end soon,” Laesser told Fox News. “Please help us to end this war as soon as possible.”
Laesser said the city does not “have enough shelters.” Her family did not have enough time to run to the nearest one.
“Ukraine is a peaceful country, we were not prepared for war,” she Laesser.
