Photos from Kyiv Maidan

A friend has been wandering through Maidan in Kyiv this afternoon.

She sends pictures of a place that's been transformed by the events of the past 6 months.

Scarred and burnt.

Undeniably resilient.


Colorful bandages wrapped over former scenes of death and destruction.

Donetsk, Kramatorsk, Mariupol

Written on the planks of wood: liberty or death.

Meanwhile, a student pulled out his cell phone in class today. "I was in Kyiv and you gotta see this!" he said, tilting the screen to show me this picture:

He touched the screen again to show the next photo, a grinning selfie in front of the same sign.

I asked him what this was about. Why Darth Vader? It's not the first time he's shown up in Ukrainian politics, but still. The student's theory was that it was a reaction to newly-elected Poroshenko, who has also used the words Дякую за довіру or Thank you for your confidence. Another possibility: maybe it's just this guy again. 

As for Kharkiv, no Vader sightings here yet, nor stormtroopers of the Death Star or Planet Earth variety.