Stepping inside Natalia Zabolotna’s art gallery in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv is like walking into another world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not just because of the array of modern sculptures and paintings, but because of what visitors leave behind at the door \u2014 the ravages of war.<\/p>\n
“I opened a gallery in the midst of the war, because I am convinced that we should be doing everything we are able to do to continue creating beauty,” Ms Zabolotna told the ABC.<\/p>\n
“Because without culture, Ukraine is just a territory. And it’s very easy to occupy a territory.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Natalia Zabolotna opened her gallery in Kyiv after Russia’s full-scale invasion. (ABC News: Andriy Dubchak)<\/p>\n
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ms Zabolotna ran galleries and staged art biennales in Kyiv for years.<\/p>\n
When war broke out, she didn’t see any reason to stop.<\/p>\n
“Art has immense power, especially during the war, because it gives people a chance to switch to a different reality \u2026 people have realised that art therapy gives them great relief,” she said.<\/p>\n
When Ms Zabolotna, 52, shuts the gallery at the end of each day though, she’s forced to switch back to life in a war zone.<\/p>\n
“In the past few months, we’ve been feeling more worried to stay on the 16th floor of our 28-floor apartment building, because we hear again and again that loud sound of Russian drones and missiles approaching,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Our blood goes cold in our veins from horror, because we’ve seen hundreds of cases when drones have attacked buildings and killed and wounded residents.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Natalia Zabolotna and her daughter Katia have been sheltering from Russia’s attacks in a car park. (ABC News: Andriy Dubchak)<\/p>\n
So, when night falls and air raid sirens begin blaring across Kyiv, Ms Zabolotna, her 18-year-old daughter \u200bKatia, and their neighbours head down to their building’s underground car park with cushions and blankets, sometimes for hours on end.<\/p>\n
“People have got used to this routine,” she said.<\/p>\n
But they’re also exhausted by it. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Which is why Ms Zabolotna says many Ukrainians are feeling cautiously optimistic about the news that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet for peace talks in Alaska this week.<\/p>\n
“We have huge hopes for the upcoming meeting,” she said.<\/p>\n
“We Ukrainians are waiting for peace, we want a ceasefire that would result in peace, so every big diplomatic development such as the upcoming meeting of Trump and Putin and a possible meeting with Zelenskyy with the possible signing of a peace agreement, is a big hope for us.”<\/p>\n
However, Ukrainians have a deep distrust for Mr Putin and have come to learn they cannot rely on diplomacy alone, so confirmation last week that more patriot air defence systems were on the way is a reassuring backstop.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The car park below Natalia Zabolotna’s apartment building has become a bomb shelter. (ABC News: Andriy Dubchak)<\/p>\n
The Patriot, which is short for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target, is a mobile surface-to-air missile defence system manufactured in the United States.<\/p>\n
It is regarded as one of the world’s best air defence systems.<\/p>\n
“We’re thankful for such significant help,” Ms Zabolotna said.<\/p>\n
“This is a war of technology. We have to defend the sky over our children.”<\/p>\n
Europe pays for patriots<\/p>\n
Analysis by the BBC\u00a0last\u00a0week revealed that since Mr Trump re-entered the\u00a0White House, Moscow has more than doubled its drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Last month, the US president announced his country would supply an undisclosed number of patriot air defence systems to Ukraine, but only if they were paid for by European allies.<\/p>\n
Each one, together with its ammunition, is worth about $1.5 billion.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The US-made Patriot air defence systems are used in multiple countries. (Reuters: Kacper Pempel)<\/p>\n
Last week, the Netherlands was the first country on the continent to announce its contribution to a NATO-led scheme to pay for the weapons, with \u20ac500 million ($894 million).<\/p>\n
Sweden, Norway and Denmark subsequently announced they would provide funding for the weapons totalling the same amount.<\/p>\n
Separately, Germany says it is delivering two of its patriot systems to Ukraine, after reaching an agreement with Washington that means Berlin will be the first in line to receive the latest systems in return.<\/p>\n