Latest news with #KyivExpress
NHK
30-04-2025
- General
- NHK
Dreams in darkness aboard the Kyiv Express
The Kyiv Express is more than just a night train linking Ukraine's capital with Warsaw ? it has become a powerful symbol of hope and resilience. It reconnects lives torn apart by conflict thanks to international support and the dedication of its crew.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Inside the 'Kyiv Express,' the loud, bumpy, yet surprisingly cozy overnight train I rode 16 hours to Ukraine
I recently took the 16-hour overnight train from Warsaw to Kyiv for a reporting trip. The 'Kyiv Express' was loud and bumpy but surprisingly cozy. This is what the long journey was like. WARSAW, Poland — When I boarded the big blue train that took me on a 16-hour journey into Ukraine, I was certain I wasn't going to be getting any sleep. The makeshift beds rattled throughout the night as we barreled across the Polish and, eventually, Ukrainian countryside. The train stopped frequently, and passport checks interrupted hopes of grabbing some proper shut-eye. Last month, I spent about a week in Kyiv reporting on Russia's ongoing invasion. I felt that as a journalist covering the war, I needed to be there, to see things myself, and to learn what the people of Ukraine are facing. It was eye-opening. I experienced the uncertainty of waiting out a Russian barrage in an air-raid shelter in the middle of the night. Many Ukrainians in the capital are desensitized to the near-daily one-way attack drones and won't even get out of bed for those, but the missiles still cause alarm. I met air defenders shooting threats with a machine gun out of a pickup truck. And I saw firsthand the efforts to produce new types of drones for front-line combat. Getting to Ukraine, though, from neighboring Poland meant an overnight train ride, one unlike anything I had experienced before in the US or in Europe. At the busy train station in Warsaw, a platform sign identified my ride as the "Kyiv Express." Waiting in warsaw I arrived at the Warsaw Wschodnia station an hour before my scheduled departure, giving me time to relax and grab a bite to eat. After hanging out and watching people flood in and out of the station, I devoured a small sandwich from Caffè Nero. It was evening, just a bit before 6 p.m. I got to the platform a few minutes early and walked to my assigned train car, showing my ticket to an employee of Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine's state-owned rail company. Boarding the "Kyiv Express" I boarded the train and walked to my sleeper cabin at the end of the car, right next to one of the two bathrooms. The blue train was dimly lit, dated, and had a stale odor. My room was the size of a large closet, but I had it all to myself, and it felt surprisingly cozy. I hung my coat and took a few minutes to get settled and organize my things. The room had a three-bed bunk, with the middle bed swung down to act as a backrest for the bottom bed, where one would sit (eventually, I raised the middle bed to sleep on). Besides the only window, there were some hangers, a small fold-down chair, a ladder, a storage rack, and a small desk with a mirror that opened and hosted an electrical outlet. It was a spartan space, certainly not the luxury train Western leaders have used to travel into Ukraine in the past, but it was sufficient for what I needed it to do. Sleeper cars My train cabin The cabin was equipped with three plastic packets containing sheets, a pillowcase, and a towel. What looked like sleeping pads and pillows were on the top bunk, and blankets were on a storage rack. (I didn't end up using any of them.) The cabin also came stocked with two bottles of water, but I'd packed my own, along with some Pringles, biscuits, and Mentos to hold me over until I got to Kyiv. I figured there was a good chance I'd be up all night and get hungry. Just me and my bags Everything I needed The train pulled away from the station shortly after its scheduled departure time. By this point, it was dark outside. Around 15 minutes later, someone came by to check my tickets. I used Google Translate to communicate with him, and he tried to speak English at one point. The only word I could really make out from the exchange was "Trump." My reporting trip came right after a contentious White House meeting between the US president and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and as the Trump administration was pressuring Ukraine to make unfavorable deals. The train felt like it was traveling fast, though I had no idea what our speed was. They may have said something, but I don't speak Ukrainian. The journey across Poland was bumpy and loud. During the first three hours of my ride, I prepped for interviews in Kyiv, caught up on the news, ate some snacks, and watched a little TV on my phone. The cell coverage was surprisingly good at this point (it got worse). Bathroom controls Bigger than an airplane bathroom It was dark outside, so I couldn't see much of Poland beyond some scattered homes, buildings, and streetlights. Every so often, the train stopped briefly at a station as we inched closer to Ukraine. Polish customs began a little after 9:30 p.m., nearly four hours into the journey. A customs officer walked down the hall to check passports and clock us out of the European Union. The train didn't move for over an hour, but eventually, it started rolling again. Ten minutes later, I received a knock from an employee saying that we had reached Ukrainian customs. The couch functions as a bed More than one place to sleep Narrow hallways I handed over my passport to a Ukrainian soldier and got it back 30 minutes later with my long-awaited Ukrainian stamp. By this point, with the time change (Ukraine is one hour ahead of Poland), it was nearly 1 a.m., and I was super tired. Twenty minutes later, we entered a massive warehouse, where the train underwent preparation to switch from European tracks to the wider Ukrainian tracks built during the Soviet Union. Though Russia's army has struck train tracks and rail centers, Ukraine's rail lines have been surprisingly well maintained, with most trains running on schedule. The next hour was filled with the unenjoyable, piercing sounds of machinery and the coughing and snoring that penetrated the thin walls separating my room and the one next door. Closing in on Kyiv First sights of the Ukrainian capital city Stepping off at my stop For the next few hours after we finally got on our way again, our train zipped across the Ukrainian countryside. I was in and out of sleep, but when the sun rose, I gave up entirely and took my first view of the eastern European country out the window. As we approached the Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi station, the landscape slowly shifted from rural to urban, and we arrived in the Ukrainian capital just before 11 a.m. It was chilly and busy outside as I waited for a ride to my hotel. Stepping out onto the ordinary-looking concrete station, I reveled in the fresh air before it dawned on me that I still had the same 16-hour journey back to Warsaw to look forward to. Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Come to Bucha, JD Vance
During a heated exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Feb. 28, U.S. Vice President JD Vance accused the Ukrainian president of leading 'propaganda tours' of Russia's destruction in the country. Zelensky, in turn, asked Vance if he had ever been to Ukraine. Of course, Vance's criticism of Ukraine is not new. In a New York Times op-ed released in April 2024, Vance argued that America shouldn't help Ukraine, citing the burden of producing weapon systems like 155 mm shells and Patriot missiles. He suggested that the U.S. should pressure Ukraine to surrender territory it has lost to Russia and claimed that supporting Ukraine 'doesn't add up.' Before Vance makes further assumptions and jeopardizes diplomatic relations with Ukraine, I'm pleading — with all due respect, as a fellow Ohioan — for him to do what I did: travel to Ukraine and visit the town of Bucha, located in the suburbs of Kyiv. Bucha is the site of some of the first war crimes committed by the Russian army in Ukraine, uncovered in the initial months of the full-scale war. Seeing Bucha will help Vance understand that this war is about more than just territory; it's a war between good and evil. I'm not an aid worker or foreign fighter. My visit to Ukraine was personal. In the early 2000s, as a record executive for Universal Music Group, I helped develop Ukraine's music industry. In May 2023, after more than a year of full-scale war, I traveled to Kyiv to check on my colleagues. I took the Kyiv Express, a 17-hour train from Warsaw to Kyiv. I saw destruction everywhere: bombed-out apartment buildings, malls, and machine gun-riddled cars and homes. Even a statue of the poet Taras Shevchenko had been shot up in the Borodianka town square. In the territories Vance wants to hand over to Russia, war crimes have been committed daily for over two years — including torture, executions, and the kidnapping of children. One of my colleagues offered to bring me to Bucha. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. I visited the site where mass graves were uncovered behind the local church. I spoke with an elderly church worker who survived the massacre by hiding in the basement for days. Listening to her terrifying account and seeing the destruction firsthand made it clear to me: this is a war of good versus evil. Bucha is one of many reasons why Ukraine cannot simply surrender territory to Russia. The war crimes uncovered in Bucha were revealed only after the Russian army was driven out, three months after its occupation. In the territories Vance wants to hand over to Russia, war crimes have been committed daily for over two years — including torture, executions, and the kidnapping of children. By suggesting America should pull back from helping Ukraine, Vance risks ignoring these atrocities. As a loyal Republican, Vance would do well to look to former U.S. President Ronald Reagan for inspiration. Reagan confronted evil with steely determination, resulting in the end of the Cold War. For Reagan, American values justified confronting the Soviet Union — not excuses like production problems in weapons factories. Reagan, who loved Ohio and won the state's presidential election twice, understood the crucial role Ohio's military bases and weapons manufacturing played in the Cold War. But if Reagan were here today, I believe he would strongly disagree with Vance's policy of weakness. As a fellow Ohioan, I don't understand Vance's weak view of America. I grew up on a family farm in central Ohio, but we were both raised with the same Midwestern values — to support good and confront evil. And what the Russian army is doing in Ukraine is among the greatest evils of this century. Both of us learned about Ohio's greatest figures in public schools, from abolitionists Harriet Beecher Stowe and Sojourner Truth to astronauts John Glenn and Neil Armstrong — individuals who demonstrated courage and bravery. Most of Vance's constituents in Ohio support Ukraine. The Midwest is the heartland, and Ohioans consider ourselves the heart of America. What happened to your heart, Vance? Come to Bucha, Vance. You may find it there. Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent. Submit an Opinion Read also: Trump's aid cuts could trap Eastern Europe in a disinformation bubble We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
