Following another week of intensive and lethal Russian bombardment of Ukraine's cities, a composite image has been doing the rounds on Ukrainian social media.
Underneath an old, black-and-white photo of Londoners queuing at a fruit and vegetable stall surrounded by the bombed-out rubble of the Blitz, a second image - this time in colour - creates a striking juxtaposition. Taken on Saturday, it shows shoppers thronging to similar stalls in a northern suburb of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, while a column of black smoke rises ominously in the background. Bombs can't stop markets, reads the caption linking the two images.
But there was plenty of fear, too. Halyna, selling dried prunes and mushrooms, told me she saw little cause for optimism. In my opinion, according to the scriptures of the saints, this war hasn't even started yet. Another shopper who felt her house tremble from the force of the blast echoed this sentiment—while inspiring memes about blitz-spirit circulate, the far larger question remains: not how to endure but how to stop this war.
President Donald Trump's recent declarations in favor of negotiations alongside renewed discussions about appeasement re-focus the world’s attention on Ukraine’s strategy moving forward. As the fighting reaches a stalemate and Russian missile strikes target cities farther from the front lines, international perceptions and strategies are shifting, with Ukraine urgently seeking ways to combat the escalating challenges posed by Russian aggression.
The risk of a widening war with a nuclear-armed state hovers as Ukrainians continue to push back, with firm resolve to destroy the structures fueling the violence. They'll fight until they physically and politically extract the threat on their sovereignty.
