Cellist Denis Karachevtsev performs in between air raid alarms in a city which has suffered immensely from Russian attacks

In between air raid alarms, cellist Denis Karachevtsev performs the Ukrainian National Anthem in an impromptu open air performance in central Kharkiv.

Karachevtsev, 30, studied at the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine. He is a former cellist of the Polish-based I, Culture Orchestra.

At least 500 civilians have been killed in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, since the beginning of the war on 24 February. The city has suffered victim to constant Russian airstrikes and artillery shelling, with homes, public buildings and vital infrastructure being destroyed. Amongst shortages of food, water and essential medicines, civilians are having to deal with cold temperatures between -4 and 2°C. 

It is thought that approximately 500,000 civilians remain in Kharkiv, which had a population of 1.8 million people before the war.