I’ve been in Kyiv for the past three weeks and have a few more to go. I haven’t stayed this long in the city since I graduated from university and moved to the U.S. almost 16 years ago, and it’s been amazing to relearn everything about the city, remember how beautiful the fall is here, do the things I used to love, and imagine myself living here again…All of that while being constantly exhausted and unable to sleep because russians terrorize the city overnight.
Not a single person living in Kyiv gets to forget about the genocidal war russia is waging against Ukraine. The city is being attacked with cycles of quiet days followed by massive overnight aerial assaults, the days in between are spent anticipating the next strike: drones and missiles, constant injuries and casualties, civilians killed overnight, power infrastructure targeted by russian drones, and ongoing blackouts across the city.
And while I’m sharing this, there is currently an air-raid alert in Kyiv due to a ballistic missile threat.