Current:Home > ScamsHiding beneath normality, daily life in Kyiv conceals the burdens of war-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Hiding beneath normality, daily life in Kyiv conceals the burdens of war
View Date:2024-12-23 21:20:13
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Life in the capital of a war-torn country seems normal on the surface. In the mornings, people rush to their work holding cups of coffee. Streets are filled with cars, and in the evenings restaurants are packed. But the details tell another story.
Numerous buildings across Kyiv bear the scars of Russian bombardment. Sandbags are stacked around monuments, museums and office buildings to protect from possible attack. At nights, streets are empty after the midnight curfew comes into force.
In restaurants, diners chat about life, friends and jobs and discuss whether they liked the Barbie or Oppenheimer movie better, or which concert they might attend. But such conversations can suddenly turn to stories about burying loved ones, or how they hid during the most recent missile attack or how they adjusted their schedule to balance sleepless nights and the need to be productive at work.
“Death has become a very routine part of our life,” said Aliona Vyshnytska, 29, who works as a project coordinator.
Vyshnytska lives in downtown Kyiv. She tries to create comfort in her rented apartment by buying small trinkets and cultivating indoor plants. She has grown accustomed to objects being shaken off the windowsills by the vibrations of explosive waves. After each night filled with loud explosions, she develops migraines. But like millions of others in the capital, she continues to work and “celebrate life in breaks from the war.”
She fears the Russian aggression on Ukraine, which first started in 2014, “will last forever or for a very long time, incongruent with human life.”
“And it’s this sort of background feeling that your life is simply being taken away from you, a life that should look completely different,” she said.
In the second year of Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv has suffered less physical devastation than the first months. Ukraine’s bolstered air-defense units have become adept at intercepting Russian drones and missiles fired at the capital, mostly at night or in the early hours of the morning.
Walking around the streets of Kyiv this summer, signs of normality can be seen everywhere: A couple cuddling on a bench. Children playing in parks. Bungee jumpers hanging over the Dnieper River. A newlywed couple dancing to music playing in the street.
But people’s faces often show the signs of sleepless nights under attack, fatigue from the churn of tragic news and, above all, grief.
Olesia Kotubei, another Kyiv resident, says her loved one is serving on the front lines, and her best friend has also joined the military.
This keeps her from ever forgetting about the ongoing war. She recounts her birthday this year on June 7, when she turned 26. She and a friend visited a café in the heart of Kyiv. Seated in an inner courtyard adorned with abundant flowers and lush greenery, they savored their coffee with a direct view of St. Sophia’s Cathedral. Yet, even in this picturesque scene, she couldn’t shake off a feeling of unease.
It was the first days of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, in which her loved one was participating in an assault unit.
“At this moment, you can’t influence anything; you have to wait and maintain your mental health, somehow not lose your mind,” she said. On the back side of her phone a picture of her boyfriend is tucked beneath the cover. Olesia says her image occupies the same spot on her boyfriend’s phone.
As she spoke, the sound of sirens began to blare. She noticed this with a tired exhale. Shortly after, numerous powerful and loud explosions shook the capital.
“These missile attacks, happening in parallel with my attempts to live a normal life, affect me deeply,” she said.
veryGood! (1898)
Related
- Repair Hair Damage In Just 90 Seconds With This Hack from WNBA Star Kamilla Cardoso
- Below Deck's Tyler Walker Shares Difficult Experience of Finally Coming Out to His Parents
- Rihanna's Third Outfit Change at the Oscars Proved Her Pregnancy Fashion Is Unmatched
- Hunting sunken treasure from a legendary shipwreck
- Worker trapped under rubble after construction accident in Kentucky
- A complete guide to what is — and isn't — open this Thanksgiving Day
- Keller Rinaudo: How can delivery drones save lives?
- Facebook plans to hire 10,000 in Europe to build a virtual reality-based 'metaverse'
- Eminem, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, N.W.A. and Janet Jackson get Songwriters Hall of Fame nods
- How the 'Stop the Steal' movement outwitted Facebook ahead of the Jan. 6 insurrection
Ranking
- North Carolina offers schools $1 million to help take students on field trips
- Facebook rapist who escaped prison by faking death with help from guards is brought back to South Africa
- Most of the email in your inbox isn't useful. Instead of managing it, try ignoring it
- More than 1 in 3 rural Black southerners lack home internet access, a new study finds
- Olivia Munn Says She “Barely Knew” John Mulaney When She Got Pregnant With Their Son
- Nebraska officials actively searching for mountain lion caught on Ring doorbell camera
- Tiny Tech Tips: The Best Wireless Earbuds
- 3 Sherpa climbers missing on Mount Everest after falling into crevasse
Recommendation
-
Why Kathy Bates Decided Against Reconstruction Surgery After Double Mastectomy for Breast Cancer
-
Leaders from Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube face lawmakers about child safety
-
Harry Shum Jr. Explains Why There Hasn't Been a Crazy Rich Asians Sequel Yet
-
Former Indian lawmaker and his brother shot dead by men posing as journalists in attack caught live on TV
-
Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid Enjoy a Broadway Date Night and All that Jazz
-
Google Is Appealing A $5 Billion Antitrust Fine In The EU
-
House lawmakers ask Amazon to prove Bezos and other execs didn't lie to Congress
-
Russian court rejects appeal of Evan Gershkovich, Wall Street Journal reporter held on spying charges