Life in Ukraine

“They attacked our school once, and a missile came flying toward us. The firefighters came. I started crying. When I got home, I didn’t cry anymore.” Seven-year-old Alex knows what Russian attacks sound like. But some of his classmates don’t even know what fireworks are. In Kyiv, explosions and air raid sirens are more familiar to kids these days.

Active-duty Ukraine’s service members, veterans, adaptive athletes, and international competitors gathered in Kyiv for “IDU NA VY: Tryzna,” an international Mix Martial Arts (MMA) tournament organized by the Third Army Corps and Veteran Corps. Held to honor fallen Ukrainian warriors, the event brought together military and civilian fighters for an evening of combat sports, including martial arts duels and medieval knight battles.

After more than four years of high-intensity war, Ukraine and Ukrainians have developed essential routines for survival. Everyone has their own, and it is not uncommon for people to debate which decisions to make based on their individual situation and potential risks. Life in Ukraine is a high-intensity risk management exercise. In Kyiv, going down into the subway has become one of these routines.

Inside Kyiv’s October Palace, steps from where 48 protesters were fatally shot during the Maidan Revolution, theatre director Vladyslav Troitskyi is confronting a crucial cultural conundrum. Confronting international institutions that reduce Ukraine to a stage for war and tragedy, the GogolFest founder lays out a radical strategy to position the country’s avant-garde art scene on its own terms.

“When our village was liberated, we came back with my sons. There were no windows, no doors, no roof. I went to a neighbor’s house to borrow a ladder. On my way back, I stepped on a petal mine in the yard. I didn’t even realize what had happened. I just looked down and saw that my big toe had already been blown off and everything was covered in blood.”