Kyiv, Ukraine – This year, the Atlas Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine’s largest music festival, took on a new meaning. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls, and the hundreds of thousands of visitors. Instead, beloved local artists graced the stage for a smaller but still ebullient crowd. This was the first festival since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, and it was a testament to the resilience and unity of the Ukrainian people.
The stage was erected in a shopping mall parking lot, the only option with a shelter large enough to contain the 25,000 people expected in the event of an air raid. Carefree youth danced, romanced, and sang along, rubbing shoulders with hardened military commanders as famous singers crooned lyrics imbued with national pride. Music was the main goal, but so was shattering the illusion that the capital is invulnerable to the bloody battles hundreds of miles away.
“Such kind of festivals can’t be separated from the life of the country. The country is at war. The core issues here should relate to the war,” said Vsevolod Kozhemyako, a businessman and one of the founders of the 13th “Khartia” Brigade, now a part of Ukraine’s National Guard and defending the front line in Kharkiv. “People who are still young and who don’t join (the fight) should understand that they cannot live in a bubble,” he added.
And yet, a bubble is precisely how it feels to be in Kyiv, as the war approaches its third year. While Ukrainian soldiers are killed and wounded every day along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line in the east, the capital is a stark contrast with its busy bars and clubs. But every so often, Kyiv comes face to face with the war. Two weeks ago, a barrage of Russian missiles destroyed a children’s hospital and a private clinic, in one of the deadliest attacks since the full-scale invasion. Residents have grappled with power cuts caused by Moscow’s targeted destruction of Ukrainian energy generation at the height of a summer heat wave.
In every corner of the music festival, visitors were confronted with the inescapable reality that theirs is a country trapped in a bloody war of attrition. Festival organizers hoped to raise $2.2 million (2 million euros) to help soldiers purchase supplies for the front line. The festival was not just about the music, but also about supporting the brave men and women who are defending their country.
In the mall’s basement parking lot, various military units, from Khartia to the 3rd Assault, offered interactive games to lure donations and possible recruits. A first-person shooter game offered visitors a chance to improve target practice by gunning down shadowy virtual infantrymen. In another corner, medics brandished severed plastic limbs and offered emergency medical training. The festival was a unique opportunity for civilians to get a glimpse of the realities of war and to show their support for the soldiers on the front line.
The festival concluded on Sunday with a much-anticipated performance from Serhii Zhadan and his band Zhadan and the Dogs. Zhadan, a celebrated artist dubbed the poet of the Donbas, recently joined Khartia. “It’s just a small break, an opportunity to take a breath,” said Zhadan, minutes before he took to the stage for a roaring crowd. “The most important things, they are happening over there, at the front line.”
On stage, Zhadan started with one of his most beloved songs “Malvi” or “Mallow.” The crowd sang along, word for word. “But what can you do with my hot blood,” they chanted. “Who will come at us.” 18-year-old Viktoriia Khalis was excited to see his performance. She had been to the Atlas festival once before in 2021, and the difference was stark, she said. “The main thing that has changed, unfortunately, is that now the festival is connected with donations,” she said. But she also felt more connected to her homeland. “I feel this entire crowd is related to me. I feel unity.”
Despite the fear of a potential Russian air attack, thousands of attendees gathered to enjoy the music and show their support for their country. For Nadiia Dorofeeva, one of
