Behind the Invisible Wall: The Frontline’s Pain Fades from Daily Life

Source: Author’s Facebook page

Kyiv is observing a day of mourning following the deadly Russian missile strike that claimed multiple lives and caused widespread destruction.”

Every death is an unconditional tragedy. But there is something I cannot understand. We are at war. Dozens — sometimes hundreds — of people die on the front every single day. Yet, for some reason, a day of mourning in the city is declared only when civilians are among the victims.

Why is it this way? Does this not create an invisible wall between those at the front — the same civilians forced to wear military uniforms — and those in the rear? Are we not deceiving ourselves, finding yet another excuse to look away from the war? A war that is not a tragedy only when missiles strike a city, but a tragedy every single day.

So the rear is separate, and the front is separate? Is that it? In the rear, we live too comfortably for a war of this scale. People actively go on vacations, salaries are rising (many may complain, but it is still a fact), and careers are advancing. Instead of imposing extra duties on luxury imports, we see thousands of brand-new premium cars on our roads. Football matches and concerts go on as if nothing were happening.

And this is happening in parallel with the daily tragedy at the front. It is possible because people at the front are giving the most precious thing they have, while the collective West is flooding Ukraine with money, creating an economic miracle in the rear.

This does not mean that people in the rear should force themselves to suffer or refuse to live. No. But we must realize that it creates the illusion of a peaceful life — the illusion that the war is far away. And then a rocket strikes, and the city declares a day of mourning. As if the daily tragedy of war does not concern this city.

The trap of a good life during war is tempting. But it is dangerous. Because the war is near. Because Putin’s desire to seize all of Ukraine has not gone away. And building an additional wall between the front, which is “somewhere far away,” and the rear, where life goes on as usual, is unreasonable. Especially against the backdrop of constant problems with mobilization, caused in part by the fact that most people prefer to keep living their comfortable lives in the rear rather than turning from civilians into soldiers.

That is why I do not understand why today is a day of mourning in Kyiv. I do not understand why, only today. It feels hypocritical. And somehow dishonest.

As a reminder, on August 29, Ukraine honors the memory of military personnel and volunteers who gave their lives for the independence and territorial integrity of the state. The Day of Remembrance was introduced in 2019 by a special presidential decree – the date was chosen in honor of those who fell during the withdrawal from Ilovaisk on August 29, 2014. The symbol of the day was the sunflower – a reminder of the battles in the encirclement among the ripe fields.

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