This is what Kyiv looked like before the war

Bustling and beautiful
A splendid city
It is hard to imagine Kyiv before the war
The unification of Ukrainian lands
Social life
May in the city
Dark clouds
The sunset on the bridge
The view of the city from one of the oldest neighborhoods
The Monastery of the Caves
In the square
The night over Kyiv
A day of training
Life, as it was before
Bustling and beautiful

The Ukrainian city of Kyiv has been hammered by Russian bombs for more than two years. The city which was once a bustling and beautiful hub for business and culture has been decimated.

A splendid city

"Beautiful in the frost and fog on the hills above the Dnieper": this is how Mikhail Bulgakov defined the city of Kyiv in 'The White Guard', a novel set during the winter of 1918-19, immediately after the First World War and at the time of the Russian Civil War.

 

It is hard to imagine Kyiv before the war

Today there is another war barricading the Ukrainian capital and the images that reach us are devastating, so much so that it is almost difficult to imagine what it was like before the war.

The unification of Ukrainian lands

A man in traditional costume plays drums during the Unity Day celebrations in Kyiv, which commemorates when, on January 22, 1919, the Act that unified all Ukrainian lands into one Ukraine was signed in Kyiv.

Social life

Kyiv was a lively city with plenty of nightlife prior to the war. Here, we see lights, restaurants, and outdoor tables in Kiev in 2019.

Photo: Eugene Chystiakov / Unsplash

May in the city

Here we can see the city in bloom in this aerial view of the Ukrainian city in a photo published in May 2021.

Photo: Artem Zhukov / Unsplash

Dark clouds

Kyiv was a city filled with beautiful historical buildings, as we can see in this photo from 2020, in which dark clouds contrast with the pink buildings of the city.

Image: Viktor Talashuk / Unsplash, photo published October 2020

The sunset on the bridge

The sunset over one of the bridges of the Ukrainian city. Photo published in March 2018.

Photo: Artem Pochepetsky / Unsplash

The view of the city from one of the oldest neighborhoods
A photo taken from St. Andrew's Descent, in the Podil district, one of the oldest in the Ukrainian capital, and published in 2019.

Photo: Hristo Sahatchiev /Unsplash

The Monastery of the Caves
A detail of the Kyiv Monastery of Caves, protected by UNESCO, in a photo published in 2019.

Photo: lifeinkyiv /Unsplash

In the square

People in the square, among the city lights. Photo published in June 2020.

Photo: Maksym Diachenko / Unsplash

The night over Kyiv

This photo, published in June 2019, portrays the Pecherskyi District, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Kyiv where the monuments of greatest historical and artistic interest in the Ukrainian capital are located.

Photo: Eugene / Unsplash
A day of training

This image of young people training on their bikes was published in March 2020.

Photo: Eugene Chystiakov / Unsplash

Life, as it was before

A normal day for the kids of Kiev in 2021. The war was still far away.

Photo: Maksim Zhashkevych / Unsplash

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