As Russia’s forces edge ever closer, Kharkiv’s mayor has a defiant message for Putin

Exclusive: Mayor of Kharkiv Igor Terekhov tells The Independent that Russian forces are trying to ‘destroy’ his city, home to some 1.4 million civilians

The three Russian glide bombs pound into the residential tower block, ripping apart several floors. At least 10 are injured in a strike that is part of what has become a near-daily aerial assault on Ukraine’s second-largest city.

In his office a few streets away is Kharkiv’s mayor Igor Terekhov, who is quickly rushed into a meeting as our interview is put on hold. Images then start to flood social media showing the destruction wrought upon the civilian-populated area near the Peremoha metro station in the city centre.

When the interview resumes, Terekhov is forced to take three calls while emergency services rushed to the scene nearby to help the wounded. Aides intermittently grab the mayor to update him on the developing situation.