Two small knots of people—fatigue-clad soldiers and unaccompanied women—gathered in the spring sunshine on the south side of the iconic bridge. Few spots in Ukraine are better known in the West than the span that connects Kyiv with its northern suburbs, Irpin and Bucha. This is the bridge Ukraine destroyed in February 2022 to stop Russian tanks from reaching the capital, forcing tens of thousands of fleeing residents to cross the river on foot. Three years later, the bridge has been repaired, and simple as it is—an unremarkable stretch of urban roadway—there is something miraculous about it, smooth and unbroken across the flat marshland.
The Ukrainians huddled near the old crossing last week are there to celebrate the third anniversary of the liberation of Irpin—the end of the opening battle of the war. It’s a simple ceremony, the first of several marking the day. Attendees stand for a moment of silence for fallen fighters; a small band plays the national anthem. There are short prayers and speeches. Then the mayor, also in fatigues, hands out the little plastic boxes with Ukrainian flags, one for each tearful widow. “We can fix the buildings,” wounded veteran Andrii Rizhov, a compact man with a graying beard, tells me. “Most of the physical damage and destruction has been repaired. The souls are different. Nothing can repair these widows’ shattered lives.”
This is a time of swirling emotions for most Ukrainians. Three years of war—nightly bombardments, power outages, unrelenting mobilization, and mounting casualties—have left citizens exhausted and yearning for peace. Few expect much of the ceasefire being negotiated by Washington and Moscow.
