ZOLOCHIV, Ukraine—The thud of bombs and the roar of air raid sirens pierce the air in Zolochiv, a desolate village in Kharkiv region. The village holds no strategic value for Russia, but its proximity to the border just 12 miles away means Zolochiv has little or no warning of fresh attacks, and casualties and deaths are frequent. Terror runs high among civilians.
Three years into the war, residents of Zolochiv feel that Kyiv’s military must boost the village’s defenses by attacking weapons, launch sites, airfields and military logistics centers within Russia, before attacks can be unleashed on Ukrainians. Until now, Western countries’ restrictions have prevented them from doing so out of fear that the war might expand, and amid nuclear threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Many feel now those rules must be torn up to give Ukraine a chance to defeat Putin.
Throughout the war, most of Ukraine’s international allies have insisted that any weapons they provide must be used exclusively within the country’s territory. The restrictions were initially developed to prevent the war from expanding, and backed by NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly, the Biden administration, and European countries. However, Ukrainians argue that complying with the restrictions is limiting the country’s ability to defend itself and could lead to a Russian victory.
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The debate over whether Ukraine might use Western weapons in Russia has rumbled on throughout the war, but in recent weeks it has been thrust into the spotlight. On May 10, Russia launched a counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region, a major turning point for life in Ukraine’s second-largest city and its surrounding towns and villages. Attacks have continued throughout the Kharkiv region for the entirety of the war, and air raid sirens sound so often that most people tend to forget about the warnings and continue their day. Since the counteroffensive began, however, the region has been pummeled every day, and given its proximity to Russia, Kharkiv’s air defense system is not advanced enough to infiltrate all incoming attacks. In just seconds, an attack launched from Russia’s nearby Belgorod can strike the Kharkiv region, and by the time the threat is detected, it is often too late to stop.
Ukraine has argued that it is crucial for the country to be allowed—in self-defense—to attack the military sites inside Russia that are bombing them. They also say attacks could destroy military facilities, weapons, and personnel before they come to the frontlines, and allied countries are beginning to agree. On May 28, all 32 NATO states adopted a declaration urging members to allow strikes on military targets inside Russia, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken has voiced his agreement.
On Thursday, Politico reported that Biden had approved Ukraine’s request to attack military targets inside of Russia near Kharkiv. The rule change was limited to the defense of this region, not allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles deep into Russian territory—but it still marked a major shift in the war. The article was published at around 11 p.m. local time, and less than one hour later, Kharkiv was bombarded with attacks that injured 25 people and killed four.
Local residents carry out repair works on a damaged house after a Russian missile attack on Feb. 6, 2024, in Zolochiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine.
Oleksandr Stavytskyy/Global Images Ukraine via Getty ImagesTotal Nightmare
Russia has been able to attack Zolochiv from the air without even needing to risk crossing into Ukraine; planes approach the nearby border and launch glide bombs into the village, according to Ukrainian Armed Forces Sergeant Sarah Ashton-Cirillo. “Time and time again, these Russian glide bombs are focused on Zolochiv’s civilian populace, and in just the last few weeks, we have seen humanitarian relief centers, a sports complex, and a kindergarten all destroyed from these Russian instruments of death,” she said.
Under the previous rules of engagement, Ukraine would not be able to use the F16s which are finally set to be delivered to shoot down those Russian bombers. Belgian officials said this week that they would still not be allowed to fly into Russian territory.
Walking past the site of one of the destroyed humanitarian relief centers, outgoing artillery could be heard in the distance. But inside one of the only restaurants in Zolochiv a few minutes later, Deputy Mayor Vitaly Sadovii asked The Daily Beast not to leave the building for a few minutes as a drone flew overhead.
Inside the restaurant, an employee named Svitlana Izhakevych, 71, gasped and covered her ears as a loud “boom” rang throughout Zolochiv. Izhakevych is from Ivashky, a nearby village that is directly next to the Russian-Ukrainian border, and left for Zolochiv because it had become too dangerous. Zolochiv was supposed to be safer, somewhere she and her husband could live, but the explosions outside the restaurant show that nowhere in the Kharkiv region is safe.
Deputy Mayor Sadovii told The Daily Beast that Russia has struck Zolochiv most days this month. Sitting at a table at the restaurant, he held out his hand and counted the number of attacks on his fingers. “May 1. Aerial Bombs. A civilian was killed on May 1. When they attacked the central square. May 6. Attacks. And for the last four days of that [last] week, consecutive days of shelling with Grad rockets.”
“They are shooting, they are destroying civilian objects, this is a hospital, this is a sports complex, these are civilian objects. Why should our military lose? If they were hit [plane], it would not fly anymore. They realize that we can’t do anything,” Sadovii said.
One week ago, Sadovii and his father were at Epicenter, a large shopping mall in Kharkiv that last Saturday became the most recent example of Russia’s deadly attacks. At least 18 people were killed and 48 others injured in the deadliest attack Ukraine had seen in weeks. Sadovii acknowledged that if he and his father had waited just a few days to go to the mall, they could have been killed.
“To be honest, the way they [Russia] destroy us, the civilians also know everything. It’s not like they’re coming out of the woodwork. Why should we sit around now, afraid to live?” Sadovii said.
“I would love for them to feel the same way, and 10 times worse than we do. We were living normally, enjoying life,” he added.
The owner of the restaurant, Alexander Goncharenko, 52, had a Russian mother and a Ukrainian father, and lived for most of his life in Gurkazachok, a small village around 160 feet from the Russian border, he said. Before the war, Goncharenko was pro-Russian, and believed that Russia and Ukraine were essentially the same. “I went to bed on Feb. 23 [2022] and it was Russia. I woke up on Feb. 24 [2022],” and it was Ukraine, Goncharenko said.
“I hate them [Russians] all, from the smallest to the largest. After Feb. 24, I don't care. I don't know them, we need to put up a wall. They don’t exist for me. I don’t want to know them,” he added.
Goncharenko believes that Kyiv should be allowed to carry out attacks inside Russia, which it has done on occasion over the last few months in an attempt to destroy military equipment in Belogord. In Ukraine’s attempt to destroy weapons headed for the country, there have been casualties. On May 6 in Belgorod, seven people were killed and 35 injured in a drone attack orchestrated by Kyiv, and in March, 9,000 children were evacuated from the city. Last December, a drone and rocket attack killed 25 and wounded another 100. Still, the attacks have been planned with the hope of harming Russia’s chances of winning the war, and Goncharenko said, “You don’t have to kill civilians. They [Ukraine] will shoot down airplanes. At least if they shoot down one plane today, the [Russians] will think for a week how to circumvent this case, which will give Ukraine’s military time to advance,” he said.
A police officer walks past the body of a victim following a Russian strike on Zolochiv in the Kharkiv region, northeastern Ukraine.
Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)Behind Enemy Lines
Taking the fight to Russia has been a key strategic element of the entire war. Ukrainian drones have struck as far away as Moscow, and since the start of this year, there have been a flurry of attacks on oil refineries and military targets.
Even some Russian residents have realized the importance of staging attacks inside Russia in an attempt to stop future attacks on Ukraine. Throughout the war, partisan groups have attacked trains carrying weapons to Ukraine, military recruitment offices and weapons manufacturers.
The Daily Beast received a video from members of one of these Russian partisan groups last summer. The video was of three men wearing ski masks and sunglasses to hide their appearance. One man on the left held a rifle as the member in the middle spoke, referencing the men on either side of him, the partisan in the middle said, “My colleagues now hold weapons in their hands. They are holding it to show that we really have weapons.”
That partisan group included six men who began their fight in August 2022 after they realized that peaceful protests would not be enough to end the war. At the time, the partisans said the members decided, “One way or another, it (war) ends with administrative or criminal cases against the protesters. Therefore, we decided that in order to carry out real activities to overthrow the regime, we will take up arms.”
There are also Russian military groups like the far-right Russian Volunteer Corps who are fighting alongside Ukrainians on the frontlines.
“I consider our work as a crusade in a certain way, and all guys that are on our side, they have different motivations, different thoughts,” Denis Kapustin, the self-described head of the Russian Volunteer Corps, told The Daily Beast. “Some of them think that they shouldn’t go beyond the border and that it’s fine if we just liberate Ukraine. Of course, the main goal is common because as long as Russia in its current state exists, we all are unsafe,” he added.
On May 2, an explosion derailed a freight train in Russia’s Bryansk region, more than 250 miles from the Ukrainian border. Train operators reported the 20 wagons had come off the track due to “unauthorized interference,” and Russian officials accused pro-Ukrainian partisans of being responsible for the attack, but did not name those responsible. In the video, however, the speaker said it was his group that orchestrated the attack.
“We understand that our people will not live peacefully with this [Putin] regime. If the regime begins to fall due to defeat in the war, we are here to help it collapse,” he said. “We want Ukrainains to know that there are people in Russia who also protest and fight against this regime, and we have a common enemy and he is sitting in the Kremlin.”
If the West wants to see that enemy defeated, Kyiv argues, they must lift the ban on striking deep into Russia and give Ukraine the chance to win this war.
