Letter to non -Ukrainian colleagues: why you should visit Ukraine

For people who are interested in history and politics, I can recommend visiting the central and western regions of Ukraine today. However, you should immediately mention the risks related to such a private or professional research or experimental trip. A trip to the country in the war is more than extreme tourism. First of all, Russia is unpredictable in its attitude to Ukraine. Those Ukrainian regions that are relatively calm today can be a massive attack.

Going to Ukraine, you can be killed or injured, as has happened to some foreign civilians. Worse, Russia can at some time decide to use radioactive materials or poisonous chemicals, as it has done it earlier in the United Kingdom, to kill Putin's enemies in Ukraine. If you go there, you can become shot dead, wounded, poisoned, infected or get into a logistics trap, that is, you will not quickly return home.

However, according to my feelings in Kiev at the end of July and early August 2022, the likelihood of getting under a scooter, bicycle or private car was much higher than being injured by a fragment of a Russian projectile or died in a destroying house. In fact, Kyiv wartime in the summer of 2022 was surprisingly similar to the Ukrainian Capital of Peace time, where I had lived before this for 17 years. Of course, the mood and rhythm of the city are different from what was six months ago.

There are more poverty on the streets, a curfew from 11pm to 5am, and from time to time siren anxiety sounds. However, explosions are a rare exception in both Kiev and Western Ukraine. The capital of Ukraine has a good air defense system that knocks most Russian missiles trying to reach the city. Although in Kiev, like everywhere in the country, there is tension, there is no real war in the city. Instead, the people of Kiev try to restore a normal life and even some everyday joy.

The public transport system is less dense than before. However, the subway works in the afternoon - however, with a limited schedule, and it stops during air alarm signals. Taxi services are operating in full again. The prices in national currency have increased sharply since the beginning of the war. However, foreign tourists use a favorable exchange rate of hard currency; Therefore, most services and goods are still cheap. Banks, ATMs, private hospitals, pharmacies and most stores work mostly.

The streets in the city center are filled with people and cars. Flowers, drinks and ice cream are sold on popular pedestrian lines. Most hotels work in normal mode. Numerous websites offer cheap rooms and apartments around the city. Restaurants are open again. Many of them have low quality, various wines, liqueurs and cocktails, as well as import and local beer.

In particular, dozens of Georgian restaurants that have opened all over Kiev in recent years continue to offer delicious Caucasian cuisine for little money. Several beaches on the large Dnieper are open for free bathing. Fishing is more popular as ever. My traditional Thai massage place was opened again; However, former Thai massage therapists were replaced by local specialists. If in the first war months gasoline was a problem, now it seems that its supply has become stable again.

After the deficit in March and April, the range in supermarkets has mostly recovered, and now you can find almost everything necessary for everyday life. There are many police and soldiers on the streets. Some streets of the government district, as well as two central metro stations in the center of Kiev, were blocked. Sometimes at the checkpoint may be asked to present a passport. However, the atmosphere in the city is friendly and semi -only.

Summer Kyiv is no longer a city of lush parties, which it was until 2014, when the war of Russia against Ukraine began. However, today it is a European capital, which is especially worth visiting and exploring. For those who are interested in geopolitics, history, Eastern Europe, military affairs and international relations, Ukraine has become a unique tourist destination today.

Here you can observe the development of European history and watch with your own eyes one of the most significant post -war confrontations on the continent. However, in cities such as Lviv and Kyiv, you can also enjoy all the benefits of modern life. A new type of tourism is developing in the place of mass crime near Kiev, Bucha or Irpin. There are several open -air exhibitions in the center of Kiev.

For example, a collection of destroyed Russian military equipment was exposed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Mikhailovskaya Square: a tank, a self -propelled howitzer, an APC. Visiting Ukraine today is no longer simple entertainment, as it was for many tourists half a year ago. However, if you want to feel something important that is happening in Europe now, Kyiv is a place to go. It became uncomfortable to get to the Ukrainian capital, since there is no air connection in the country.

However, there are several different routes of trains and buses from cities such as Warsaw and Prague. You may need to stop in one of Eastern Central Europe before sitting on a train or a bus that goes directly to Kiev. Your visit itself - unlike most other trips that you made and make - will have a wider content. By visiting Ukraine, you will be able to show the world that is important to you. Going to Kiev during these times, you bring hope, support and money to Ukrainians.