Kharkiv terror attack results in three lives lost; war crimes investigation started (Warning: Graphic Images)

Valiant victims, dismembered in blast, are now eternal heroes of Ukraine.

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Sitting in the parking lot of my apartment complex, the harrowing echo of a distant crash rang out through the empty blocks of North Saltivka.  

With Russian terrorist acts against the people of Kharkiv increasing in frequency and ferocity, the noise that rang out, an indicator of a successful aerial assault by the Russian terrorists was as unsurprising as it was unwelcome.

Having just pulled up, groceries piled in the front seat, I debated whether I would cover the strike. Moments later, as the coordinates pointing the way to tragedy appeared on my phone, the answer was clear, and I headed back out.

Less than 10 minutes later I pulled up to an innocuous-looking scene.

Gawkers mingled outside, inspecting broken glass, and across the street, a small fire burned as debris from a grad rocket ignited the nearby brush, and a commercial building, empty at the time of impact, stood partially destroyed.

There was destruction, yes. Yet, nearly five months into a war defined by Russian war crimes and genocide, what I was viewing hadn’t warranted a trip to see.

Taking a few photos, I lingered for a bit as bystanders came and went, and several people took turns picking up the fragments of the grad that was strewn about in a small area of now indented earth.

On my walk back to the main road, the thought crossed my mind to give my contact some shit over his reasoning as to why I needed to come out again.

Then, in rapid sequence, multiple ambulances and fire trucks set a blistering pace as they sped past despite the fire which still burned.

Running up a slight embankment, looking east down the roadway, I saw they had all come to a stop just a few hundred meters away.

Taking off after them, arriving moments later, the magnitude of what had taken place was apparent as police blocked the entrance into the courtyard of one of Saltivka’s many residential compounds.

A quick examination of my credentials saw me waved through, and with that, I entered a world where a putrid brew of sorrow, despair, and disbelief had intoxicated the lingering masses.

On display at the front side of the residential building was an all too familiar Kharkiv visage; a massive, gaping hole in the middle floors of the nine-story edifice signifying where the terrorist’s rocket made entry.

Around back the horror was magnitudes worse.

Residents on the upper floors peered down at the rescue workers below, trapped; awaiting rescue from the crumbling structure.

Below them were the obliterated carcasses of birds and cats, and several groupings of people: Police and First responders, media members, and their neighbors.

Among the first group, a war crimes prosecutor was busy already beginning to make his report, as the members of the second and third jostled amongst themselves for viewing positions and specks of information.

Three of the neighbors didn’t take part, however.

Three of their neighbors were dead.

Three of the neighbors were covered by a variety of means including cardboard, sheets, and plastic.

Three of the neighbors were dismembered from the blast, missing limbs, and more.

Three of the neighbors were forevermore heroes of Ukraine.

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