It is the end of the beginning of Ukraine’s war. We don’t yet know if it is the beginning of the middle or the beginning of the end
s the war in Ukraine has entered its second month, its character has changed. Russian troops have withdrawn from their positions around Kyiv and the cities in the north-east of the country. According to the State Border Guard Service, in the first week of April almost as many people entered Ukraine as left. It is the end of the beginning. We don’t yet know if it is the beginning of the middle or the beginning of the end. The shock and adrenaline of the first weeks have dissipated.
The railway is still running two or three free evacuation trains a day from every region. In the Donbas, where a new Russian offensive is expected and authorities are encouraging women and children to leave, there are currently five such trains a day, “running at over 200% capacity”, Shevchenko told me. On April 8th a Russian missile struck the station in Kramatorsk, a city in the east, as hundreds of evacuees were waiting to board the train. Dozens were killed and wounded.
There is no longer a distinction between private and public, individual and national. The government has suspended taxes for small businesses, telling them to pay what they can. Many entrepreneurs regard paying tax as a matter of patriotic duty. “Everyone contributes to the army”, said Gavrilova, “everyone finds a way to help.”
One day I ate lunch at Pretty High Kitchen, a chic restaurant overlooking Lviv’s main square. The next day I visited its chef Yura Koshyk at a hip food hall in a former glassworks combining a brewery, bakery and barbecue restaurant, where his team was preparing meals under the auspices of World Central Kitchen, an American.
Recently, Kyiv and Lviv announced a relaxation of the alcohol ban. Wine and beer could now be served. In Lviv I had become fond of the negroni mocktail served at the People Place bar off the main square. It was run by Chady Zoratly, a cheerful half-Greek, half-Lebanese man who fell in love with Lviv ten years ago, married a Ukrainian and described himself as “Lviv’s nightmare”. “Nightmare?” I queried. “Night mayor,” he corrected. Fun times at People Place Bar.
Zoratly has set up a shelter in the vaulted basement beneath the bar, with a mirrored disco ball, carpets and comfy chairs. The business is just about breaking even “But the point is not financial, it’s emotional”, he said. “We keep the music upbeat, to keep things positive. Disco, electronic.”
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