Kyiv – After the uprising, before the war

As with the Chernobyl exclusion zone, I’ve visited the Ukrainian capital Kyiv twice eighteen months apart – in April 2013 and October 2014. In between an uprising had taken place that saw the eastern-leaning government ousted, political prisoners freed, Lenin’s statue toppled and a degree of hope take over the country. But it had also seen the Russians annexe Crimea and the start of a prolonged and escalating conflict. I remember asking a local lady how she felt about it and she told me that it felt like her country was crying out for help, but nobody was listening, nobody was responding.

Fast forward a few years to 2022 and that inaction had given the Kremlin all the nerve it thought it needed to mount a full scale invasion to take over its poor neighbour within days. But as I write this almost a year later, their terrorising of the impressively resolute neighbour determined to fight to the death if it comes to it, continues. Much of the world wonders if it shouldn’t have seen all this coming… Some people did.

Kyiv is beautiful, and these pictures were all captured as I wandered after dark on that second visit, a warm October night that foretold of an equally pleasant weekend. Once again, I’d like to go back.