Opinion: Buying curtains during a Kyiv air raid, and what it says about living under war

In an opinion piece for the Guardian, Ukrainian writer Diana Berg recounts setting out to buy curtains in Kyiv, only to find herself sheltering in a locked building entrance as Ukrainian air defenses shot down drones overhead.

Berg, an artist and the founder of Platform TU, a Ukrainian cultural initiative now operating in exile following Russia's full-scale invasion, describes the episode as capturing a broader paradox of life under sustained attack: the simultaneous awareness that tomorrow is not guaranteed, and the persistent human instinct to make a home feel normal and lived-in regardless.

She writes that she had not checked for an air raid alert before leaving her apartment, setting out on what was meant to be a routine 20-minute walk through her neighborhood. Partway through the trip, explosions began overhead as air defense systems engaged incoming drones, and she took shelter in the entrance of the nearest residential building.

Rather than framing the moment as an example of stoic endurance, Berg pushes back on the characterization of Ukrainians as simply "resilient," suggesting instead that choices like buying curtains reflect a rational, deeply human response to prolonged uncertainty: investing in the present because the future cannot be counted on.

The essay is presented as a first-person reflection rather than a news report, offering insight into the lived experience of civilians in Kyiv as Russia's invasion, now well into its fourth year, continues to bring periodic air attacks on the Ukrainian capital. It does not detail the specific date or scale of the drone activity described, framing the account instead as representative of daily life under recurring alerts.