In Kiev, the Cupid cafe is well known to the Ukrainian intelligentsia. Writers, artists, musicians and lovers of literature have crowded for twenty-seven years in this room with bohemian decor, installed in the basement of a Stalinist building. People come here for a drink while enjoying the exhibitions, readings, concerts and football matches.
Two months ago, the facility’s manager, Albina Kotiuk, was amazed to discover that it was also a bomb shelter. The place is one of 4,500 structures of this type, inherited from the Cold War. The town hall has been listing them since December 2021 in view of a potential new offensive by Russia, of which 100,000 men are massed at the borders. “I was surprised, but after all, the place lends itself well”says the young woman, observing the cave-like room.
For the past two weeks, customers have become rarer. The alarming declarations of the United States and the United Kingdom on the imminence of an attack ended up getting the better of the relative indifference which reigned in Kiev until now. “There is a real anguish, explains Albina Kotiuk. In my entourage, friends have just done military training. I try not to think about it too much. » She still looked at the official map showing the location of the shelters, published on the Internet by the local authorities and shared massively on social networks. “Since I learned that the metro is also a huge shelter, I see the city differently”adds the manager, who says to herself “ready to fight” in the event of an attack.
“The population in a state of extreme alert”
At the table with his friends, Alex, 30, is one of the regulars at the Cupidon café. Beneath her calm demeanor, this computer programmer also confides that she has become “constantly anxious”. “It’s like a ticking time bomb. We don’t know when it’s going to explode, or if it will, but just in case, everyone is thinking about what they plan to do: run away, fight or stay here. » She still hesitates between going to the front or helping in the back. “What is very disturbing at the moment is that everyone is talking about the war, but we don’t see it here. Everyone goes about their business as usual. Sometimes I wonder, “Is this all an illusion? Am I the only one worried?” »
However, this impression is widely shared in the capital, where advertisements have appeared on the walls calling on the population to engage in civil defence.
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