Ukraine's Lviv braces for more years of war as Russian invasion takes its toll

Record ID: 2343126

  • Title: Ukraine's Lviv braces for more years of war as Russian invasion takes its toll
  • Date: 19th February 2026
  • Summary: LVIV, UKRAINE (FEBRUARY 17, 2026) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MILITARY CEMETERY (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 27-YEAR-OLD LVIV RESIDENT, YULIIA OLIYAR, SAYING: "It's not four years, it has been going on for much longer. And when it started this time (February 24, 2022), I didn't expect it to be resolved once and for all. You have to know our enemy, you have to understand that they (Rus
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Cease fire Ceasefire Peace deal Peace talks Russian invasion War in Ukraine
  • Location: LVIV, UKRAINE
  • City: LVIV, UKRAINE
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts
  • Reuters ID: LVA003484112022026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: By late 2025, Lviv's military cemetery reached full capacity, forcing local authorities to secure an additional plot of land for its expansion.
    The first grave in the new section was laid on December 11, 2025, and within two months the area filled with dozens more, demonstrating the daily toll of years of war on the Ukrainian population.
    In the largest city in western Ukraine far away from the front lines, mothers kneel by freshly dug graves and priests bless new rows of burials.
    Lviv residents say they never expected the war to end quickly. "It's not four years, it has been going on for much longer," said Yuliia Oliyar, a 27‑year‑old Lviv resident.
    Ukraine and its Western allies say Russia infiltrated eastern Ukraine with fighters and intelligence operatives to stage a coup in Donbas in 2014 which Moscow subsequently supported with regular troops.
    Russia denied those allegations at the time, describing the events as a local rebellion against a government it accused of hostility to Russian speakers, which most Donbas residents were.
    "There is a war in the centre of Europe… it will continue for a long time," said Petro Odamyk, a member of Lviv’s city council.
    Despite the mounting losses, many Ukrainians insist their resolve remains intact.
    "I want to believe in victory. I hope it will happen," said 32‑year‑old Ostap Shavel. "We Ukrainians are a very resilient people... I think we will survive it now too."
    As an air alert echoes across Lviv, mourners pause among the rows of new graves — a quiet testament to a city bracing for more years of war.
    (Production: Andriy Perun, Margaryta Chornokondratenko, Andrii Pryimachenko)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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