Ukraine's cultural capital and world-heritage site Lviv braces for war  

Lviv escaped the damage that cities like Berlin and Kyiv withstood during the wars of the 20th century and Unesco classed the city as a World Heritage Site in 1998

Statues in the main square of Lviv are being covered to protect them from aerial bombardment. Picture: Hannah McCarthy

Fighting has not yet reached Lviv but signs of the nearing war are everywhere in West Ukraine’s biggest city.

This week, the funeral party of a young Ukrainian soldier filled the street outside the Church of Peter and Paul, the Jesuit-built church in the old town of Lviv.

A 10pm curfew has been imposed but the streets are emptied before; bars restaurants have taken the prohibition on alcohol seriously. Night patrols of local volunteers are out in force, checking cars and the IDs of anyone out after curfew.

Lviv just before 10 pm curfew. Picture: Hannah McCarthy

During the day, sandbags and spiked chains are being laid in front of government buildings, while new military vehicles are seen driving through the city. Dotted around the streets are anti-Russian and Putin posters, as well as an occasional one asking NATO to impose a “no-fly zone.” 

Lviv escaped the damage that cities like Berlin and Kyiv withstood during the wars of the 20th century and Unesco classed it as a World Heritage Site in 1998, describing it as “an outstanding example of the fusion of the architectural and artistic traditions of Eastern Europe with those of Italy and Germany.” 

Now many in Lviv are planning for an aerial bombardment that could destroy the monuments, cathedrals and squares that have made it the cultural capital of Ukraine. Statues are being covered and stained windows of churches are being boarded up and covered in fireproof material.

“We are protecting world heritage, not just the heritage of Lviv,” 

says Lilia Onyschenko, head of the city council department responsible for protecting buildings and architectural history.

The funeral of a young Ukrainian soldier outside the Church of Peter and Paul in the old town of Lviv. Picture: Hannah McCarthy

Ukrainians displaced by the Russian invasion have been flooding into Lviv from those Eastern cities and towns like Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Irpin. Lviv’s Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said that the city is struggling to feed and house the tens of thousands of new arrivals.

Forty people from Kharkiv, a city close to the Russian border that has been devastated by attacks by the Russian military, have just arrived to stay at Lviv’s Regional Puppet Theatre. The Soviet-era theatre has been converted into accommodation for Ukrainians who have been mostly arriving with only the small bags they were able to carry.

Lilia Mirishnik (20) was a second-year puppetry student in Kyiv when the Russian invasion started. He left when the fighting began and has been living at the puppet theatre in Lviv ever since.

Lilia is originally from Mariupol, where his parents have remained. “I haven’t heard from them in six days,” he says.

The Puppet Theatre in Lviv is now being used as accommodation for displaced Ukrainians. Picture: Hannah McCarthy

At the Gun Powder Tower in central Lviv, a small army of volunteers has been making camouflage nets for buildings, military posts, and vehicles. It’s a medieval building that served as an arts centre until the Russian invasion began two weeks ago.

Artwork is still on display on some of the walls, while women and young people work away threading wire nets with green, grey, and brown strips of fabric. The operation sends a wholesome message about the war effort that the Ukrainian government is no doubt keen to encourage.

Anastasia Verdernikova (24) is an IT manager from Lviv who is now helping to lead the volunteer effort at Gun Powder Tower. “I want to save my homeland,” she says. “My friends and family are all here, I cannot just leave.”