Woman who survived siege of Leningrad as a girl now trapped in Kharkiv

Alevtina Shernina was a young girl when she survived the brutal siege of Leningrad during the second world war. Eight decades later, so frail she can barely talk, or move unassisted, she is besieged again.

And yet Shernina cannot flee, even to a bomb shelter. Her heart problems leave her too fragile to be carried down the flights of stairs to the basement when the air raid sirens sound.

A bombardment this week shook Natalia, too.

Cold air now comes in through a window left damaged by the attack. Her face pale, her eyes closed, Shernina sits nearby in a blanket, an electric heater at her feet, a tabletop of medication beside her.

Now Kharkiv, just over 25 miles (40km) from the Russian border, sees little escape from the invasion. Some residents have managed to flee. Others, like Shernina and her family, have little choice but to stay and wonder how long it will go on.

Her daughter now walks the six miles to work, as public transport no longer operates in Kharkiv. Only a third of her fellow doctors are left in the hospital. Some have been evacuated, fearing more Russian bombardment.

She and Natalia fear it, too. They considered trying to shield Shernina by moving her to the basement, where metal cots set by the bare concrete walls give little comfort.