Life in Ukraine

May 26th is Kyiv Day, and the city celebrates its 1542nd birthday. As it endures full-scale war, Ukraine’s capital serves as a connection point for all those within Ukraine and outside of it.

Amid the war in Ukraine, women’s bodies are keeping score to a trauma that medicine often overlooks—the physical manifestation of profound emotional distress.

You may remember the buzz around the transfer of old cars from London to Ukraine. They were set to be scrapped under the city’s new ultra-low emission zone regulations, so Ukraine asked for them to be sent to the country’s frontline instead. After much debate, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, agreed. But what has happened since? And have any arrived? 

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine brought suffering not only to people but also to the most vulnerable of all—animals. Volunteers determined to save them started evacuations in the first days and have not stopped since. 

Before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine could fully supply itself with energy and even export it abroad. But the war has changed everything. The Ukrainian energy system is being destroyed, and energy prices are rising in Europe.

Ukraine is in its second year of war; another winter has passed—that of cold weather and bad news. As spring starts, it is warm on the battlefield, which means that the ground meets the conditions for mechanized assaults. In the country’s rear, it means good weather and people once again leaving their homes en masse in search of comfort.