Dodging drones and playing chicken, Kyiv style
“Don’t head to the shelter when you hear the bomb raid alarm - go when you hear the first explosion,” advised Andriy, our taxi driver in Kyiv. Parts of a drone interceptor landed 10 meters from his taxi when he was waiting at the train station a few weeks back.
After check-in, I was on the phone with my wife, Gillian, in my room explaining that it wasn’t that dangerous, when right on cue, the bomb raid alarm went off. I said not to worry, and that I would call her back. Deciding to take Andriy’s advice, I waited it out in my room.
I was in Ukraine to review a five-star hotel in Lviv and decided to extend the trip east. We wanted to be able to tell an accurate story about central Ukraine and interview some new contacts in Kyiv and Odessa.
Logistically, Kyiv is hard to get to. I purchased tickets for the one-day train from Lviv to Kyiv. When the train arrived, the conductor said the cars we bought tickets for didn’t show up. My lack of Ukrainian language skills did not help the situation.
Left with the suggestion to speak with someone at the ticket office and having to stay in Lviv another day, I suggested that we could pay for a ticket for the train that was in front of us. She said, “The train is full,” but for 40 euros, she gave us her own cabin, and we were off. After a long and bumpy ride broken up with a tea break, we finally arrived.
Except for the curfew, Kyiv seemed like a normal city, with open restaurants and people dining on the sidewalk. We were able to enjoy a dinner of Chicken Kyiv at sidewalk café across from the Italian Embassy.
There was a collection of burned-out tanks from the Russian invasion a few years ago in front of St Michaels Gold Domed Cathedral. The statues in the main squares were covered up, and there were drone and military advertisements. Other than that, I was relieved to see that the city looked pretty good.
Later that night, there were two other bomb raid alarms at one and four in the morning. Taking Andriy’s advice again, I tried to sleep. The “Air Alarm” app was extremely helpful and even displayed “May the Force be with you” when the alert was over. It provides a map of all of the regions and allows you to set up alerts for specific places you are visiting.
Seeing the memorials in front of St Michaels and Independence Square was heartbreaking. Seeing the walls of photos of all the young faces that were lost was emotional, especially as that Sunday was Father’s Day. There were many pictures of women as well.
Every morning at nine am, there is a minute of silence for the fallen. Everyone stands up out of respect as music is played throughout the city. The first time I witnessed it, I didn’t realize what was going on and was late to stand up.
The next day, we were off to Odesa on a six-hour bus. The roads were relatively empty as expected. Unfortunately, we arrived just before curfew and found ourselves rushing to the Mozart Hotel next to the beautiful historic Opera House.
The next day, an early morning run gave me a better perspective of the city. Passing through the heavy tree lined streets and next to some light armored vehicles patrolling a waterfront park, I was able to get a great view of the beach. There were a few people out training on the numerous outdoor gyms.
The beach seemed less crowed than you might expect in summer, and there were plenty of bomb shelters clearly marked. Most restaurants were open, along with all of the beach clubs. Unfortunately, the next day, a 26-year-old woman visiting from Kyiv was struck by drone interceptor debris and died at the same beach. The alarm had ended by mistake, when there was an explosion in the sky, and she and her boyfriend were immediately struck.
At sunset, we left on a bus headed to Moldova to catch a flight the next day back to Rome. It was heartbreaking to see a place I loved wrapped up in war they didn’t start. However, I was proud to see them not only surviving but fighting back and becoming a stronger and more resilient country.
Good job, Michael. I feel for those people, and not just because all of my housekeepers have been Ukrainian. I hope the U.S. keeps defending them.
What a trip! Interesting story about an adventurous trip.
I got the opposite advice about the warning or explosion in Israel ... hear the siren and go to the shelter. If you wait for the explosion, it might be too late. I wonder if that's a reflection of how much more often Kyiv residents hear the alarms. The city looks better than I would have expected in your photos.