Lines from the frontline: The poet soldiers defending Ukraine

According to western intelligence experts — and doubtless Russian forces, too — Kyiv was supposed to fall within days of the full-scale invasion that began on February 24, 2022. They had not reckoned with Ukraine's resilience. File picture

Poetry in Ukraine is playing a vital role in processing trauma and bolstering resistance amid the ongoing war launched by Russia.

According to western intelligence experts — and doubtless Russian forces, too — Kyiv was supposed to fall within days of the full-scale invasion that began on February 24, 2022. They had not reckoned with the resilience of a society that has long defended its language and culture, and in which poets have for centuries resisted Russian attempts to erase Ukrainian identity.