The city of Kharkiv has long stood as a sentinel on Ukraine’s northeastern frontier. Historically a metropolis of industry, education and culture, she has now become something else entirely: a proving ground for modern urban defence doctrine. Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, and especially during the renewed Russian offensives in 2024 and 2025, Kharkiv has demonstrated that urban warfare is no longer merely a tactical inconvenience — it is a strategic paradigm.He
