On the front line with Ukraine’s youngest commander

Kharkiv’s improbable resistance, led by General Sergei Melnik, faces growing threats from Russia and political stalemate in the US.

Jack Wright

Apr 19, 2024 – 5.00am

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About 30 kilometres from the Russian border, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, has been under constant attack since the first day of the war, but the invaders have never run up their flag.

A hastily assembled force of professional soldiers, volunteers and retirees wielding Molotov cocktails have repelled a more numerous, better equipped, marauding regular army from the gates of their city.