Although war is still raging, 30-year-old Nadia Kukla is managing a punk-rock band’s tour around Ukraine. Her biggest challenge is the daily air raid sirens that sound across the country to warn of Russian bombing.
“If the air raid alert lasts longer than an hour, we have to cancel and reschedule,” Kukla said.
The band, Susidy Sterpliat (The Neighbours Will Endure), is on a 12-stop tour. One of the gigs was in the western city of Vinnytsia, in a pub just opposite the site of a terrible Russian strike on July 14, 2022.
Missiles targeted an army concert hall, killing 27 people, including three children, and wounding 202 others. The building still lies in ruins.
In a war-ravaged country, the power of cultural resistance is striking. Performances continue and many artists – those who have not been mobilised – collect money for the army.