In August 2025, I travelled to Kyiv, Ukraine, during a week that marked both the country’s Independence Day and one of the largest aerial attacks on the capital since the war began.
I wanted to understand, firsthand, what life is really like in a city at war. To walk its streets. To listen to its people. To witness what the headlines can’t capture.
What I found was a city of striking contrasts. Playgrounds beside burned-out tanks. Gold-domed cathedrals standing silent under the threat of missile strikes. A grand hotel ballroom turned emergency bunker. Every conversation just one step away from someone who has lost someone. And always, an inescapable tension beneath the resilience.
This is not analysis from afar. It is a personal reflection on resilience, survival, and the quiet courage of people living through extraordinary circumstances. From Kyiv, Ukraine … this is a special edition of my Box of Keys.
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The Unlock Moment podcast is brought to you by Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD. Downloaded in over 120 countries. Sign up to The Unlock Moment newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/ywhdaazp Find out more at https://garycrotaz.com and https://theunlockmoment.com
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