Ukraine can move beyond its Soviet architectural legacy

Summary

Editor’s Note: We are dedicated to personal stories in the fight against authoritarianism. And not just about destruction – but also with a view for rebuilding what is destroyed. Would you miss us if we were gone? If so, you need to upgrade now!Upgrade Now!In other coverage, we have an item in our ‘News of the Day’ section that hits close to home to our team. Our mine awareness trainer, call-sign ‘Swampy,’ was killed during a de-mining mission near the frontlines. Scroll down to see our report on his memorial.Yurii Semenenko with his wife, Olha, and daughter Kseniia.Yurii Semenenko found his apartment mangled and damaged when he returned to his home in Kharkiv after the withdrawal of Russia forces in 2023.The apartment above them burned down, while their apartment got flooded.It was devastating. But he rolled his sleeves up, and rebuilt it with his wife, Olha, to ensure their daughter had a good place to live.Yurii’s apartment was among those most heavily damaged — half of the apartment collapsed. Photo provided by him to The Counteroffensive.But a year later, a Russian glide bomb hit his apartment building, tearing it to pieces.“We’ve learned the hard way that all material things — they come and go,” Yurii said. He had been sitting on his couch watching TV, preparing to give an online class at the university. When he stepped into the hallway, he was thrown inside by a strong blast.“I was lying with the glass and red dust everywhere. The room [I had been in] collapsed. My wife said, ‘We just bought a couch for that room.’ Yes. We did,” Yurii told The Counteroffensive.All their hard work. Gone.As Russia continues to bomb Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, the buildings in the Northern Saltivka district continue to collapse — just like many Soviet-style buildings across Ukraine.The area of Northern Saltivka has been under intense bombardment by the Russian army as it is located on Kharkiv’s outskirts. (Photo by Ivan Samoilov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images...