KHARKIV - You’ll never drink alone were the words that hung above the bar at the Old Hem, an iconic pub in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
The pub is named after Ernest Hemingway, and its patrons would walk past a statue of the legendary American writer on their way in. It was popular among the city’s young creatives, and Serhiy Zhadan, one of Ukraine’s best known poets, would often perform and drink there. But now the Old Hem lies in ruins.
It was completely destroyed during Russian shelling of the city on Monday. The Kharkiv prosecutor’s office says two people died in the attack.
The bar’s owner, Kostiantyn Kuts, told the BBC that no staff were in the bar when the strike hit, and those who died were in apartments above the pub. The Old Hem stopped pouring pints and turned into a makeshift bomb shelter when the Russian army invaded Ukraine on 24 February, Mr Kuts says.
He initially hoped that he’d only be shutting up briefly. “We did not completely believe in what was happening and hoped that soon the bar would work. But the illusions were destroyed with the first bombs on residential buildings,” he said in a message.
In the early days of the invasion, Kharkiv fought back a Russian armoured column. Since then, it has suffered nightly Russian airstrikes and shelling, with dozens of civilians killed and hundreds injured. But in the weeks leading up to the invasion, Mr Kuts says it was business as usual at the bar.
“The atmosphere was friendly. Many felt at home in the bar,” he says. “The pub was popular among young people, and they were all optimistic and did not believe in war.”
This homely atmosphere was one the Old Hem had built up over a decade.
Mr Kuts says the pub was opened in 2012 as a place where people could “meet and discuss current affairs over a glass of beer”. It soon became a focal point for Kharkiv’s creatives and would showcase local talent.
The pub is named after Ernest Hemingway, and its patrons would walk past a statue of the legendary American writer on their way in. It was popular among the city’s young creatives, and Serhiy Zhadan, one of Ukraine’s best known poets, would often perform and drink there. But now the Old Hem lies in ruins.
It was completely destroyed during Russian shelling of the city on Monday. The Kharkiv prosecutor’s office says two people died in the attack.
The bar’s owner, Kostiantyn Kuts, told the BBC that no staff were in the bar when the strike hit, and those who died were in apartments above the pub. The Old Hem stopped pouring pints and turned into a makeshift bomb shelter when the Russian army invaded Ukraine on 24 February, Mr Kuts says.
He initially hoped that he’d only be shutting up briefly. “We did not completely believe in what was happening and hoped that soon the bar would work. But the illusions were destroyed with the first bombs on residential buildings,” he said in a message.
In the early days of the invasion, Kharkiv fought back a Russian armoured column. Since then, it has suffered nightly Russian airstrikes and shelling, with dozens of civilians killed and hundreds injured. But in the weeks leading up to the invasion, Mr Kuts says it was business as usual at the bar.
“The atmosphere was friendly. Many felt at home in the bar,” he says. “The pub was popular among young people, and they were all optimistic and did not believe in war.”
This homely atmosphere was one the Old Hem had built up over a decade.
Mr Kuts says the pub was opened in 2012 as a place where people could “meet and discuss current affairs over a glass of beer”. It soon became a focal point for Kharkiv’s creatives and would showcase local talent.
