On the normally packed central Maidan square, birthplace of 2014’s revolution, there were only two men, both waving Ukrainian flags. One of them, Yurij Segedin, 55, said: “Ukraine is a nation of warriors, and a nation of heroes. We will prevail in this fight as we have prevailed in the past!”
Leto, however, said she had been caught completely unawares. Until the last minute, she hadn’t believed that the war would come. She had returned to Ukraine from a performance in Istanbul just one day earlier, and was organizing a house party this weekend. Despite dire warnings from Western countries in the days leading up to the war, many Ukrainians lived their lives as if everything was completely normal.
Ukrainians have so far been united in their patriotic defense of the country, and most people are reluctant to criticize the government directly now that they have found themselves at war. But when they speak privately, people are complaining that their government didn’t do more—both to prepare them for the possibility of an all-out conflict, and teaching them how to stay safe if war did break out.
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