The four-year-old recognised the low whistle of the Russian artillery shell hurtling toward the Ukrainian town of New York long before his mother had a chance to grab his hand. "Here comes one," the boy said matter-of-factly a few long moments before the blast of an exploding building echoed across the small town with the big American name. His exhausted 28-year-old mother did not even bother to duck. Valeria Kolakevych has heard so many shells whizz overhead in the third month of Russia's offensive that she knows instinctively how close each will land while it is still in the air. New York is a town of 10,000 mostly Russian speakers that attempted a fresh start last year by dropping its Soviet name Novgorodske and adopting one first chosen by its German settlers in the 1800s. Residents say artillery fire began pelting New York a month ago and has grown heavier by the day. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES ARRANGED IN SEQUENCES