Kyiv remembers war's fallen heroes...

THOUSANDS of flags and photos have been placed at an unofficial memorial to Ukraine's fallen war heroes in a Kyiv square.

- Hanna Geissler

Maidan Nezalezhnosti square was the site of deadly clashes between state forces and protesters standing against politicians forging closer ties to Russia during 2014's Revolution of Dignity.

Now snaps of servicemen and women killed defending their country against Vladimir Putin's invasion are watched over by Kyiv's St Michael the Archangel statue.

Among them are UK flags and names including Jordan Gatley, a former British soldier who was shot by a sniper at the battle for Severodonetsk in June 2022.

There is a deceptive sense of calm and normality while walking Kyiv's quiet streets in the daytime.

Cafes, restaurants and shops are open. When air raid sirens wail, a few dozen people take shelter in a deep Metro tunnel, but the majority continue with their daily tasks.

At night, however, air attacks remain common as the capital's defences regularly battle barrages of Russian missiles and drones.

John Marone, a journalist who writes for the Dailly Express, last week witnessed a drone attack on Kyiv which lasted for five hours and injured two people. He said: "There have been drone attacks virtually every night for the past month. But usually they're shot out of the sky in rural areas or on the outskirts of the city.

Missiles