On Feb. 25, the day after Russia invaded Ukraine, Kolya Rybytva gathered his grandmother and younger sister and left Kyiv "quickly and without unnecessary sentiments,” he said, heading west. His parents and brother stayed behind to help in the war effort.
"The decision was made in minutes,” he said, "and it was one of the most difficult in life, but we all understood that war does not provide comfortable solutions.”
At the time, Rybytva, 24, understood that he might never return. But two weeks ago, he did, re-entering the capital just as Ukrainian forces were starting to push Russian troops out of the suburbs and, eventually, into a full retreat. After a month of artillery attacks that ravaged buildings and had Kyiv residents seeking shelter in subway stations, a sense of relative calm is being restored.