Ukraine during the Full Scale War

My wartime journey to Europe's bravest country

Published 12/08/25

I've been to some interesting places, but prior to September 2024 I had never travelled to an active warzone. I spent a lot of time in Ukraine before the Russian Federation launched its despicable full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022 which has caused so much suffering, and I have people there who are dear to me. I was therefore very eager to revisit a place that was very good to me when my mental wellbeing was in a poor place, and to catch up with old acquaintances.

I spent much of July and August 2024 brushing up on my Ukrainian language skills, as I did not want to rely on the language of the aggressor when even Ukrainians who grew up speaking Russian are largely trying to switch to the state language in daily life. I bought the war risks insurance, booked a Ryanair ticket from Birmingham to Krakow for 3rd September, and arrived in Poland for the first time. Spent a day getting to know the city before taking a PKP Intercity train to the city of Przemyśl on Poland's eastern border. I found Przemyśl to be a rather charming place, and you hear so much Ukrainian spoken there that you almost feel like you're already on the other side of the border. If you ever find yourself there, I recommend the coffee shop 'Coffee To4ka'. Casimir Castle is also a must for gorgeous panoramic views.

After a few hours, it was time to be stamped out of Poland and hop on a further train, which would take me across the border. There are a very limited number of cross-border trains due to the difference in track gauge between Ukraine and all of its European neighbours other than Moldova. On the way in, I travelled in a compartment with three other passengers, who were all Ukrainian citizens heading home. It was very hot, with no AC, on a Soviet era carriage. Not entirely ideal, but it had been my cheapest option and I do enjoy the chance to interact with locals on these types of trains. The staff of Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukraine's state railway company) were also fantastic.

I had anticipated questions from the Ukrainian border guards as to why I was entering the country during the full scale war, and had prepared answers. To my surprise, I was not asked a single question and was stamped in with no issue at all. Perhaps they saw stamps from my previous visits to Ukraine and assumed I know what I'm doing. After a few hours on a very stuffy train, we pulled into the marvellous Western Ukrainian city of Lviv. Not my first time there, but coming back felt nice.


Shortly after disembarking the train and arriving at Lviv's beautiful station, I was reminded of the situation in Ukraine. As I was walking to my hotel, the entire city experienced an electricity blackout, with any glimmers of light emanating solely from generators. I had no electricity in my hotel room for the remainder of the evening, so was very glad that I remembered to bring a powerbank. After an hour or so of sleep, I experienced my first air raid alert, which really can be a shock to your system the first time you hear it, no matter how mentally prepared you think you are. It's a bit scary, because it reminds you of how real the war is, and how many innocent civillians have been killed or injured. Lviv is a relatively safe city, but it hasn't been totally unharmed. In fact, just before I entered Ukraine on this occasion, seven people were killed and more than sixty injured by Russian airstrikes on the city.

By morning, the electricity was back on, and I was able to have a relatively normal day. I bought a Ukrainian SIM card, had lunch at Puzata Hata (something I really missed - if you travel to Ukraine on a budget, this is the place for you - cafeteria style place where you can try lots of different Ukrainian food for very cheap) and sought out a Ukrainian flag at the request of one of my uni friends. It is true that, in the daytime, life feels almost normal. There are things that make it obvious there's a war going on - for example, the woman to man ratio had changed noticeably since my last visit - but you can still go shopping, go to restaurants, visit museums. Humans are very resilient and try to keep on living as best they can, regardless of circumstances.

Some other things that made it obvious a war was going on were the daily minute of silence in memory of those fallen, and the appearance of a new park filled with memorials to Ukrainian soldiers killed in action. Every grave in the photo below had a death date between 2022 and 2024. Probably one of the most sombre sights I've seen in all my travels.


At night is when you truly feel the wartime atmopshere. Other than power cuts and air raids, you see Ukrainians come together on the pedestrianised area outside the Lviv National Opera House to sing patriotic songs resisting the invasion, such as the all-time banger Voiny Svitla. Seeing this air of solidarity in person felt like a genuine honour.

I did actually get stopped by the police at one point while walking in a park. They asked if I had drugs and then asked to see my passport. This felt slightly concerning in the moment, but some further resarch suggests that part of the city is where drug dealers often hang out, so they were just being vigilant. In hindsight, they were very friendly, although had a difficult time reading my name in English!


As stated earlier, I have friends in Ukraine. One of these is a medical student from India who has just graduated from Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University. I actually met him on a train between Kyiv and Lviv in the winter of 2021. He began studying in Ukraine long before the full-scale war, and invited me to come see the city he's called home for seven years. It was a nice experience for me, not least because Ivano-Frankivsk is a city I had never visited before. He showed me around, we went to some museums, walked through the parks, had lunch, got coffee and engaged in lots of good chats. We even got to practice our Ukrainian and Russian, as we have both studied these languages.

It was really nice to catch up and to explore a new Ukrainian city. My trip to Ukraine on this occasion only lasted a week total, but it reaffirmed my love and admiration for the country and its people. The war has changed its society in some significant ways, but when it comes down to it, its still the same place I've known and loved for years.

If you're thinking about travelling to Ukraine during the full scale war, my advice is to take the train in as road borders can be a nightmare. Be sure to purchase the wartime insurance, and download the official air raid alert app. There's plenty to see as a tourist even now, and the impression I got from locals was that they're rather happy to see foreigners brave enough to travel to Ukraine at the toughest time in its history, contribute to its economy and show their solidarity with people facing imperialist aggression.