Life in Lviv five years after the full-scale invasion: a city accustomed to war
A journey to Lviv reveals that the city has maintained a calm routine, with border crossings now quicker than in 2022, and Russian language still spoken without issue.
At the Polish border, a bus passenger recalls waiting 16 hours in 2022, but this time the wait was only half an hour. A man on the bus says he needs to go to Lviv to handle documents.
Arriving in Lviv early in the morning, taxi drivers approach in Russian – contrary to expectations, there are no problems with the Russian language. The city appears peaceful, and the Austro-Hungarian architecture still catches the eye.
The article depicts the everyday reality in western Ukraine, where war has become a familiar background, but people continue their daily lives. Lviv, far from the front lines, has maintained relative calm and functionality, even as the country continues to fight.
