If, in the first days of the invasion, the Russians declared that they were targeting only military infrastructure, it quickly became clear that they were hitting buildings suffused with the memory and history of the people who lived in them: residential buildings, kindergartens, office centers, theaters. There are thousands of open wounds across the country. The worst thing is that you never know where the next Russian bomb will land.

After Russia launched its attack on Ukraine, many Ukrainians I know who were involved in protecting cultural heritage stepped up to defend the country as soldiers and volunteers because they had learned in peacetime how to protect what belonged to them — not just territory but also millions of small memories of walks home under a peaceful sky, good neighborliness and mutual support.

Before 2014, we rarely saw public displays of interest in cultural heritage in Ukraine. The Maidan revolution that year, in which mass protests led to the ouster of a pro-Russian president, kick-started the development of civil society based on Western values, like freedom of expression and self-determination. In defending these values, Ukrainians learned to be responsible for public spaces.