I am a Kyivite, born and raised in the cradle of Eastern Slavic civilization.🇺🇦

Today my birthplace celebrates its 1,544th birthday.🎂

How do you describe Kyiv to people who have never visited it?

Kyiv is warm, charming, and versatile.

As I once wrote in my essay “Tough Choice”: “𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘯𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘤 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘒𝘺𝘪𝘷.”

They say the war changed the spirit of my city.

It now resembles a steel-like warrior—invincible and fearless.

Kyiv has endured immense pain and destruction over the past 4.5 years.

Yet the Ukrainian capital is still alive and thriving.

Kyivites joke that people no longer want “to see Paris and die”—a Soviet-era adaptation of an old Italian saying that described the ultimate dream destination.

Now they want to live in Kyiv and survive.

Wherever the road takes me, wherever I settle down, I will always carry you in my heart, dear Kyiv.

Whenever something worth remembering happened, I took a mental picture of the moment and tucked it away in an imaginary box called “𝙎𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙈𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙚.”

These pictures are my family jewels, kept safe and sound forever.

Do you remember the park with its breathtaking view? The river cruise? The artist-filled cobblestone street where an extraordinary Baroque church stands proudly?

I remember every little thing.

I promise to write you letters and visit as often as I can.

Kyiv, I can’t wait to see you again.

#Kyiv, #InvincibleUkraine, #UkraineWillWin, #StandWithUkraine, #Ukraine