Ukrainian children were seen playing in parks in Kyiv in the spring sunshine as people’s resistance in the face of Russia ’s invasion was on clear display.
Kyiv was heavily pumelled by Russian shellings during the early stages of the invasion with images showing people huddled in metro systems, while millions of people have fled the country.
But ferocious defending of the capital by Ukrainians prevented a quick victory for Vladimir Putin ’s forces as they tried to encircle Kyiv.
And at the start of April, Russian troops began to withdraw from northern areas of Ukraine, in what appears to have been a regrouping, before their new attack on the east of the country.
With the intensity of bombing having eased on Kyiv, people have been heading back outside to enjoy the spring weather.
Parents could be seen in parks and play areas with children in very different scenes to only just a few weeks ago.
At the same time foreign leaders have also been to Kyiv to show their support for the country and the relatively reduced threat of shelling.
Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday dismantled a huge Soviet-era monument in the centre of Kyiv meant to symbolise friendship between Russia and Ukraine, a response to Moscow's invasion, according to the city's mayor.
The eight-metre (27-ft) bronze statue depicted a Ukrainian and Russian worker on a plinth, holding aloft together a Soviet order of friendship. The statue was located underneath a giant titanium 'People's Friendship Arch', erected in 1982 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Soviet Union.
"We now see what this "friendship" is - destruction of Ukrainian cities ... killing tens of thousands of peaceful people. I am convinced such a monument has an entirely different meaning now," Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko said.
Workmen started by removing one of the two bronze heads, which fell to the ground with a hollow clang.
As a crane lifted the monument off its moorings and gradually lowered it to the ground, a crowd of around 100 people cheered and shouted "Glory to Ukraine" and other slogans.
"Russia invaded Ukraine ... Can we be friends with Russia? What do you think? This is our worst enemy, that is why the monument to Russian-Ukrainian friendship doesn't make sense any more," said Serhiy Myrhorodsky, one of the designers.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, launched on Feb. 24, has left thousands dead or injured, reduced towns and cities to rubble, and forced more than 5 million people to flee abroad.
Moscow calls its actions a "special operation" to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists.
"We should not have any relations with the nation of aggressors... no friendship, no relations, nothing," said Diana, a young woman, who did not give her full name.
Klitschko said the arch would remain in place but be renamed the Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People.
