In war-weary Kyiv, wounded Ukrainian veterans turn epic poetry into living testimony

KYIV, Ukraine – Sitting in a circle the day before opening night, Ukrainian war veterans and drama students took turns reading their lines from a script that traveled centuries to reach them.

At the center was Olha Semioshkina, directing the group through her adaptation of “Eneida” by Ivan Kotliarevskyi — an 18th-century Ukrainian reimagining of Virgil’s “Aeneid.” This production, though, had a modern-day message about resilience in the face of the war that’s nearing its fourth year since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Andrii Onopriienko, who lost his eyesight in combat during Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine, performs during the premiere of an adaptation of Ivan Kotliarevskyi’s “Eneida,” a Ukrainian reimagining of Virgil’s “Aeneid,” in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.

Efrem Lukatsky – AP

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Director Olha Semioshkina supports Yehor Babenko a war veteran who sustained severe injuries in combat during Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine, before the premiere of an adaptation of Ivan Kotliarevskyi’s “Eneida,” a Ukrainian reimagining of Virgil’s “Aeneid,” in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.

Efrem Lukatsky – AP

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Artem Moroz, who sustained severe injuries in combat during Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine, performs during the play premiere in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.

Efrem Lukatsky – AP

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Ukrainian war veterans, many of whom sustained severe injuries in combat during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, perform during a premiere on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Efrem Lukatsky – AP

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Efrem Lukatsky – AP

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Viewers react to the premiere of an adaptation of Ivan Kotliarevskyi’s “Eneida,” a Ukrainian reimagining of Virgil’s “Aeneid,” performed by war veterans, many of whom sustained severe injuries in combat during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.

Efrem Lukatsky – AP

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In war-weary Kyiv, wounded Ukrainian veterans turn epic poetry into living testimony | Latest News

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