Lviv, 18–20 April 2022. The city is calm. The streets are full of onlookers, sauntering under the intermittent sunshine. At first glance, life looks normal. In reality, the changes are profound.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Lviv has welcomed tens of thousands of refugees from throughout the country, mainly from Kyiv and towns in the east. A curfew is in place from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The sale of alcohol has just been authorised again, but not before 8 p.m. Spirits are strictly forbidden. Around the city are several checkpoints, barricades built by civilian volunteers, minor protection on some windows, and sandbags or big tarpaulins protecting monuments from potential shrapnel. During my two days here, six or seven sirens have sounded around the city, disrupting collective life, but only momentarily. On 18 April, a Russian missile killed seven people.
