Adaptation of Kyiv's Citizens in the Midst of War

The threat of a Russian attack has not disappeared in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The local residents have adapted to a new situation full of threats of war that envelop their daily lives.

KOMPAS/HARRY SUSILO (ILO)

Ukrainian citizens who have just returned to Kyiv miss their family at Kyiv Station, Ukraine, Wednesday (6/8/2022). The atmosphere in the city of Kyiv began to be crowded as more and more Ukrainians displaced by the war returned to their hometowns. Of the 3.6 million Ukrainians who fled to Poland, about 1.58 million have returned to Ukraine.

KYIV, KOMPAS — A segment of the residents in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, are trying to adapt to and live with the new normal. This effort is being carried out, even though the country has been and is still being pounded relentlessly by Russia since 24 February 2022.

The new normal with the new adaptation was seen in the city of Kyiv, on Wednesday (8/6/2022) afternoon local time. Shopping centers, restaurants and kiosks that had been operating began to be filled with local residents. In Guliver Mall not far from Kyiv city center, for example, residents flocked to a supermarket to shop for their daily needs. Others just washed their eyes at the mall.

Around the Guliver Mall, restaurants and food stalls were also filled with residents. Some of them were sitting casually outside the stalls. Some other residents continued their normal activities, cycling or just taking an afternoon walk in the center of public crowd such as at Merdeka Square or Maidan Plaza.

The situation, which is gradually returning to normal in Kyiv, has encouraged residents to return from their places of refuge.

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Victoria, 19, a resident who lives in Kyiv, admitted that she returned to Kyiv on 1 June after fleeing since early March to Vinnytsia Province, south of Kyiv Province.

She began to return to Kyiv because she felt safe. "I never thought there would be an attack on Ukraine, but now I'm getting used to it," said Victoria, who works as a tour guide in Maidan Square.

Sergei, 26, a resident of Kyiv, who returned to his city at the end of April 2022 after being temporarily displaced for 1.5 months, had the same experience. Sergei admitted that he is starting to adapt to the war situation in Ukraine. "Besides, I'm sure there won't be another attack on Kyiv. Maybe on other cities," he said.

Attack warning

However, the situation in Kyiv has not been free from the war. On Sunday (5/6), for example, Russian cruise missiles struck one of the locations in the city. On Wednesday there was also warning of a Russian attack. The warning was broadcast by the Kyiv City Government, at 04:22 p.m local time or at 08:22 p.m. Western Indonesia Time.

The information was broadcast by a number of applications on the phone. Some of the applications were made, among others, by the Ukrainian government, security companies and the railway company. However, no siren sounded.

KOMPAS/HARRY SUSILO (ILO)

Activities at a shopping center in Kyiv City, Ukraine, which has been operational, Wednesday (8/6/2022). Residents are starting to return to their activities in Kyiv City even though the Russian military operation in Ukraine is still ongoing. The situation is normal, marked by the operation of shopping centers, food stalls, kiosks and banking offices.

In the early days of the Russian attacks, air-raid warnings in the form of sirens were heard throughout the city. After the siren sounded, people usually flocked to the shelter. The location could be a subway station or a basement in buildings. Shortly after the siren, there was a whoosh followed by an explosion.

The Wisma Duta Indonesia and the Indonesian Embassy in Kyiv also have a basement. The basement at Wisma Duta is equipped with entrances from inside and outside the house. There are four refrigerators and two stoves in the freezer compartment and one for refrigeration.

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Wisma Duta Indonesia in Kyiv is currently empty. The Indonesian government ordered the evacuation of all staff of the Indonesian Embassy in Kyiv last March. The order was issued after all Indonesian citizens who wanted to be evacuated had left Ukraine.

Now, the Indonesian Embassy in Kyiv is back in operation. The ad interim Charge d'Affaires of the Indonesian Embassy in Kyiv, Torang Pakpahan, also has an office there. Torang was appointed to lead the Indonesian Embassy in Kyiv after the Indonesian Ambassador in Kyiv Ghafur Dharmaputra died while in Jakarta on 12 May 2022.

Traces of resistance

As of Wednesday afternoon, no sirens could be heard. There is also no alarm from the application developed by the Kyiv City Government. Unlike those alerts only delivered by text, alarms are vocal. Because of that, many people still pass by or just sit near Independence Square, better known as Maidan Plaza Kyiv.

At that location, the remnants of preparations for the Russian attack can still be seen, as well as the traces of Ukrainian resistance against the Moscow military forces. Russia withdrew its troops in early April, and has until now focused its attacks on Donbas, eastern Ukraine.

On one side of the Maidan Plaza, there are still iron tank barriers, also known as the Czech Hedgehog. Sandbags, which were often used as walls of temporary fortifications, are arranged in several parts of the field. There are sandbags arranged in the middle of the field. Some of them are arranged to form the words, “HELP US”.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.