In kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, clubs and bars fill up again: “This is psychotherapy”

It is not, it could never be, a return to the past and to the old normality: the war in Ukraine continues, further east, and part of the country is still invaded by Russian troops. And yet, in kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, on the fringes of the war, the bars and nightclubs were filled again, the parties returned and the dance returned, report, for example, the newspapers El Mundo and The New York Times.

This week, the American daily published an extensive report on the return of nightlife in kyiv, noting that after a prolonged silence, the city’s nightlife is now making a comeback. Many people are even leaving home to dance, go to a bar or nightclub, and party with friends for the first time since the war began, The New York Times writes.

It is not about alienation or unconsciousness, but about the vindication of dance and socialization as emotional therapies, affirm the Ukrainians mentioned. Oleksii Pidhoretskii, a young man interviewed by the NYT, described as someone who “lives with his grandmother” in kyiv and “hasn’t gone out in months”, even says: “If you know how to use this, it’s a cure. ”

Another Ukrainian resident in kyiv, Bohdan Chehorka, explained his impression of this return while bartender:: “I wondered a lot, I had a big doubt: is it okay to work during the war? Does it make sense to make a cocktail during the war? But the first shift I worked was the answer to that. I could see it in the customers’ eyes. For them, it was psychotherapy.”

Another testimony was given to El Mundo by Yur Lipsbitc, an employee of the Closer nightclub, also located in kyiv. “Here we create our mental bunker. It allows us to overcome the depression and show that we continue to resist, ”he noted.

Holidays in kyiv have, however, a common time limitation. At 11:00 p.m. the curfew comes into force, anticipating the concerts and the opening hours of bars and discos for more daytime slots. Many bars, in fact, close at 10 p.m., to give employees time to return home on time to avoid violating curfew, writes The New York Times.

For the return of the parties and the influx to bars and discos, the return of Ukrainians and war refugees to the country has also contributed a lot, points out El Mundo. The Spanish newspaper cites figures from the European Border Protection Agency (Frontex), which estimates that last month more than 2.5 million Ukrainians had already returned after fleeing the war.