Oct 18, 2025
3 min read
Kyiv, Ukraine (app) - Every morning at 9, Kyiv stops for a minute.The traffic light becomes red, and the clots of a metronom on the loudspeakers 60 signals ...
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Every morning at 9 a.m., Kyiv stops for a minute.
The traffic lights turn red, and the steady beat of the metronome on the 60-second signals.Countless cars in the middle of the road as drivers get out and stand with their heads bowed.
The presence of Ukraine - in cafes, gyms, schools, on television and even on the front lines - people pause to remember the full-scale victims of Russia.
Near the growing monument on Kiev's Maidan, four friends gathered with cardboard signs reading "Stop, Honor."Around them, flags, photos and candles honoring fallen service members created a thick mosaic of grief and pride.
The link between the four is Iryna Tsybukh, a 25-year-old combat medic who was killed by a landmine in eastern Ukraine last year.Her death sparked nationwide outpouring of grief and added impetus to daily commemorations.
"Memory is not related to death," said Kateryna Datsenko, a friend of fallen medicine and co-registration, the civil group that provides the daily observations.
The 9am ritual began in 2022, a week after the invasion began, as a presidential decision by Volymyr Zelensyy.It has since evolved into a shared national practice.
The public display of solidarity continues even as Russian misserian attacks and Russian attacks have increased in recent weeks, hitting power centers and cities across the country.Despite the climb, Ukrainians still gather every morning to honor those lost in the war.
Ihor Riva, deputy chief of the Kyiv military administration, said the ritual fulfills a deep social and personal need.
"This is the price of war, and that price is terrible - human life," he said.
Recently, city officials changed Kiev's traffic lights to 9 A.M.They refused at 9.00.
"Better late than never," said Rewa."We certainly won't stop there."
For support and campaign work to support daria kolomiec, this time will be associated with being a person.
"Every day we wake up - sometimes when we sleep because of the attacks - but every morning at the hour of remembering why we are thankful. "You are not alone in these sorrows.There is power between us at this time." ___
Follow AP Coverage of the War in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/Hub/russia-Ukraine
