But with soldiers falling by the hundreds to the east and south, the surreal calm of Kyiv is laced with nagging guilt. Many, but by no means all, of the 2 million inhabitants who Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said had fled when Russian forces tried to encircle the city in March are now returning. Pictured: A man is seen selling hats on a hot sunny day in an Old Town of Kyiv on Saturday Pictures from the banks of the Dnieper river that courses through Kyiv showed people lounging in the sun, swimming in the water and playing games of volleyball, with the city's skyline seen across the river.Įarlier this year, the same view of the city would have featured smoke rising above the skyline as Russian shells bombarded Kyiv and Ukrainian defenders fought to keep their would-be conquerors from reaching its centre.īack then, snow covered much of the city. Now, the summer weather has coincided with relative peace after Vladimir Putin's armies were pushed back from the capital and redeployed in eastern Ukraine.īut there is also a sense of anxiousness as men from the capital continue to be called to the front lines - where as many as 100 Ukrainian soldiers are dying in fighting each day - and the threat of attack still looms large, with Kyiv being struck by Russian missiles as recently as last Sunday.
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Residents of Kyiv were out in their droves on Saturday to make the most of 34 degree temperatures, with hundreds enjoying the sunshine on the city's central beach - just weeks after Ukraine's capital came under siege from Russia's invading armies and rocket strikes levelled buildings and killed civilians.