Kyiv gradually returns to normality as war rages in eastern Ukraine

Kyiv, Apr 7 (EFE).- A week after Russian troops began their withdrawal from the Kyiv province, the Ukrainian capital is slowly regaining a sense of normality, with the gradual reopening of establishments and people out on the streets.

Although it has been several days since Russians left the province of Kyiv, local residents are taking it slow, still scarred by the more than 40 days of war they have just experienced.

“I was looking forward to going out, breathing and doing something that resembles normal life. I wanted to forget the horror of the last few days,” Irina, a local resident, tells Efe as she browses clothes in a store that reopened its doors on Thursday for the first time since the invasion began.

Irina is referring to the hundreds of corpses that have been found in towns near the capital such as Irpin, Hostomel, Bucha and Borodyanka, which until a few days ago were under Russian occupation.

Over 400 civilian bodies – some with signs of torture – have been found in mass graves across the Kyiv province, where some areas have been reduced to rubble.

But while Ukrainians are still processing what was happening at the gates of the capital, the city is starting to return to business as usual, with families strolling on the streets and traffic picking up.

“I forgot for a second that we are still at war,” Igor, 27, tells Efe.

Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, has warned that a Russian attack is still possible and asked people that have left the capital to not return yet.

“We all hope that the enemy has stopped trying to capture the heart of Ukraine, Kyiv, but we must be prepared for all scenarios,” the mayor said in a message on Telegram.

Brigadier General Oleksandr Hruzevych, Ukraine’s deputy chief of staff of the Land Forces Command, also warned at a press conference on Thursday that the Russian army may resume the offensive in Kyiv.

“This could happen in the event of a successful offensive by the Russian army in eastern Ukraine, where a large part of the enemy troops are now deployed to reinforce those already present,” he said.

Hruzevych said Russia had failed in its plan to bring the whole of Ukraine to its knees but was now focusing on taking control of the Donetsk and Luhansk eastern provinces.

Nevertheless, a defensive line around Kyiv will continue to be reinforced, he said. EFE

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