MYKOLAIV, Ukraine (AFP) — The very day Russia launched its attack on her country, Svitlana Taranova enlisted in the Ukrainian army in the southern city of Mykolaiv, her birthplace.

"At 11 a.m. on February 24 my contract with the territorial defense was signed," the former construction firm manager who is in her 50s said.

"It was the only possible decision, not a sacrifice," she said.

Mykolaiv came under threat rapidly after Kherson, 70 kilometers to the east, was taken by Russian forces.

President Vladimir Putin's army needed to take Mykolaiv if it was going to conquer the Black Sea transport hub of Odessa, its main target and a two-hour drive to the west.

So the Russians began to pound Mykolaiv with artillery, massively and methodically.

Taranova, by now in the infantry, often found herself in close combat with Russian troops.

"In the beginning, I was terrified of the cluster bombs, my heart missed a beat every time one went off," she said.

But then the fear gave way to grim determination. "I no longer feel I need to hide. All I want is revenge," she said.

While an AFP team was in Mykolaiv in September and October, the city was bombarded almost every night.