Kyiv Air Raid Interrupts Curtain Shopping: Ukrainian Artist Recounts Walking Through Attack for Homeware

Ukrainian artist, writer and cultural manager Diana Berg has described walking through a Kyiv residential neighbourhood to buy curtains when Ukrainian air defence began shooting down drones directly above her, forcing her to take cover behind a locked basement door. In a first-person account published by The Guardian, Berg said she had not checked for an air alert before leaving home and found herself crossing a city under attack because she had decided her windows needed new curtains.

Berg, a Mariupol native and founder of Platform TU, an independent cultural initiative now operating in exile after Russia's full-scale invasion, wrote that she laughed at the absurdity of the situation even as she was terrified. She noted that the basement shelter she reached was locked, and that she photographed the door to remember it. Her account argues that with tomorrow uncertain, making homes nicer is a rational way to anchor oneself in the here and now.

The piece offers a civilian perspective on daily life in Ukraine's capital under continued Russian drone and missile strikes, highlighting the tension between ordinary domestic routines and the constant threat of attack. It also draws attention to the practical gaps in Kyiv's civil defence infrastructure, including inaccessible shelters, as residents weigh personal safety against the desire for normal life.