A girl’s bear lies in a children’s playground just yards from a block of flats destroyed by a Russian bomb.
The rumble of artillery fire and shelling can be heard from the frontline five miles away at the frontline in war-torn Ukraine.
Locals say the little girl survived the bombing of her home but lost a leg in the indiscriminate attack.
Miraculously just over 100 people still live in the heavily-bombed flats in the Saltivka area of Ukraine’s second biggest city Kharkiv, their resilience breathtaking.
It is just 20 miles from the Russian border in the east of the country and more than 1,000 people have died in bombings in the city including 50 children.
Thousands have fled Saltivka - a Soviet-era development of flats for industrial workers - but those left have nowhere else to go as the war reaches its six months anniversary since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion on February 24.
In that time, 9,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed, more than 5,000 civilians, and as many as 45,000 Russian troops, while billions of pounds of damage has devastated the country.
Mum Irina Ripa, 51, who was inside building 82 when it was hit by a missile, says: “There was a huge bang. We struggled to get out and many people died but not all .
“It was a terrible day with parents crying for their children. Some children were injured as they played outside near the swing including the girl with the bear.
“The Russians have made real mess of here and also our country.”
Looking around at the rubble, Irina adds: “It was a few months ago but they keep bombing just to let us know they are there. The Russians won’t force me out - this is my home.
“Our brave soldiers have forced them back but we know they will attack again. There was a gunfight here just a week ago.
“You get used to the sounds of war, but it was terrifying to start with.
“We are still in shock that the Russians who we thought were our friends have attacked us. They are just like us.
“But Ukraine will win in the end no matter how long it takes.”
The little girl’s pink bear is thought to have been put back in the swing after it was found in the rubble.
Retired factory worker Oleksandr Kuznetsova, 82, who lives in a building opposite, says: “I think she is about six or seven. She was very badly hurt but she lived. It is not safe here.
“I hate the Russians now. It is not safe to be here. You can die any time.”
Walking near another ruined block of flat, chef Alexi Naborkha, 38, says: “The bombings have been terrible. We need the Russians out of our country but they will not go easily.
“However we have shown the world and Putin that we can fight and will not give up our country.”
Russian troops have been forced out of the city itself into the outskirts from where they launch attacks. But evidence of the fighting to beat them back is clear.
There are bullet marks everywhere in this suburb north of the city. A bullet-ridden van has been dragged across the main road warning civilians not to venture further towards the Russian lines. Electricity comes on now and again but residents have to go out and collect water.
Some cook out in the open in a makeshift kitchen.
Distant explosions can be heard during our visit, the ongoing sounds of war, and residents say Saltivka is hit every few days.
However it falls deathly silent when there are no attacks.
Grandmother Larisa Antonovic, 62, says: “You can hear bombs and shelling all the time. Sometimes I struggle to sleep when it is quiet.
“Most have left - it is like a ghost town here now - like Chernobyl.
“There was radiation there but it was left intact, but it was not destroyed like here.
“It was beautiful here with lots of parks but those Russian devils have ruined it.
“So many have died especially our young men at the front. It is scary but this is our life now.
“There are pieces of shrapnel everywhere. There are even some bullet holes in my kitchen.
“But I will not leave. Putin won’t beat me.”
In the centre of Kharkiv, there are a handful of drinkers bizarrely sipping pints in a British pub complete with photos of the Queen and a red phone box.
The Sister Margaret, named after Princess Margaret, normally serves IPA and London Pride but supplies have dried up because of the war.
Regular Andrei Zhuravliov, 32, says: “People love the pub here, it’s just a shame we can’t get a few of the normal beers.
“War has put a stop to that but at least we have Ukrainian beer still.
“I think the war will still go on for a while. The Russians haven’t forgotten about us. This is war and we have become used to it.”
Heavy fighting is still on going in the east and south of the country as Putin carries on with his disastrous war.
Some estimates claim Putin has lost a fifth of his fighting force in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance.
The capital Kyiv has returned to relative normality despite daily air raid sirens and sandbags at metro stations and sandbags.
Putin’s troops have committed more than 30,000 documented war crimes.
Just outside Kyiv, the commuter town of Bucha suffered some of the worse atrocities with 458 bodies found dumped during a 33-day occupation..
Many of the bodies were women and children. Some had been run over by tanks and women raped.
One such victim was sushi restaurant waitress Karina Yereshova, 23, who was was raped, tortured and shot by the Russians and left dumped in a mass grave by a church in Bucha.
Her mum Olena Derenko, 41, cries every day for her daughter.
She was so distraught that she tried to get inside Karin’s coffin when she was buried.
Olena says: “I am so devastated to have lost my beautiful Karina.
“My heart breaks every day when I think of her and what those animals did to her. I cry every day, thinking how hard she fought for her life.
“I thought I had cried all the tears that I had, but it goes on. My heart hurts so much with so much sadness.
“I will never forgive the Russians for what they did to her. I hate all Russians now - they need to get out of Ukraine.
“It is now six months, when will our suffering end?”
She added: “Karina fought so hard for her life. She so wanted to live and was so happy but the Russians took it away from her. Putin is a monster.”
Distraught Olena and her husband no longer can get any work because of the war andlost their home which was taken over by Russian troops in fierce fighting in the city of Irpin which neighbours Bucha.
Irpin was given the title of Hero City of Ukraine for the heroism and residence of its residents.
Bodies were run over by tanks, women raped in basements and nearly 300 people were found in mass graves after being executed.
Olena, who fled the fighting, says: “The Russians have taken everything from me - my daughter, happiness and now my home. It is destroyed and I have no roof over my head. I need help.
“I just want the pain of what my country is going through to be over.”
Neighbour Anna Mylenko, 72, says: “Horrible things happened here at the hands of the Russians.
“One of my neighbours was raped next to her her daughter who was just 15.
“Drunk Russian soldiers grabbed women into basements and raped them.
“They need to pay for what they did.”
Back in Bucha, prayers are said for victims at St Andrew the First Called - the whitewashed church with a golden dome which has also been hit with gunfire.
Victims include 12 children who were killed with their parents and burials are still taking place.
Sitting on a park bench nearby, Yana Shevchenko, 67, bursts into tears when asked about the Russians.
“I saw terrible things. I hope they are gone soon from our country so we can heal.”
