MORE
But there is also a sense of anxiousness as men from the capital continue to be called to the front lines - where as many as 100 Ukrainian soldiers are dying in fighting each day - and the threat of attack still looms large, with Kyiv being struck by Russian missiles as recently as last Sunday.
After Russia’s initial assault on Kyiv was repelled in the invasion’s opening month, leaving death and destruction, the capital has found itself in the position of becoming largely a bystander in the war.
While Kyiv’s civilians enjoy a period of calmness, fighting continues to rage in Ukraine’s east and south, where Putin has redirected his forces and military resources.
The burned-out hulks of Russian tanks are still being hauled away from the capital’s outskirts, even as Western-supplied weapons turn more Russian armour into junk on battlefields barely 300 miles away.
Cafes and restaurants are open again, the chatter and the chink of glasses from their outdoor tables providing a semblance of normalcy - until everyone returns home for the 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew - which is less constraining than it used to be when Kyiv had seemed at risk of falling under Russian control.
Air raid alarms still sound regularly, screeching on phone apps, but they’re so rarely followed by blasts - unlike in pounded front-line towns and cities - that few pay them much mind. Cruise missile strikes that wrecked a warehouse and a train repair workshop on June 5 were Kyiv’s first in five weeks.
Dog walkers and parents pushing strollers ambled unperturbed nearby even before the flames had been extinguished, a sign that in the few months since the February 24 invasion, this has become a version of normality.
Residents of Kyiv were out in their droves on Saturday to make the most of 34 degree temperatures. Pictured: Hundreds of people are seen on the Ukrainian capital's Central Beach, which lines the banks of the Dnieper river that runs through Kyiv
Pictures from the banks of the Dnieper river that courses through Kyiv showed people lounging in the sun, swimming in the water and playing games of volleyball, with the city's skyline seen across the river
Pictured: People ride E-Scooters across Kyiv's Park B crossing Kyiv's Park Bridge as people flock to enjoy the summer weather on Saturday
How do so many obviously military aged men get to enjoy walks and the beach in Kiev when there’s a mandatory draft for all males 18-60? They must be the officers caste of the Ukraine military who give orders to the eastern cannon fodder by text and don’t actually go to the front.