How VE Day and Putin’s war are forcing Ukrainians to relive their painful past

“I hardly go out now, this war is so scary, maybe even more scary than that war,” she said. On the top floor, an art exhibition juxtaposes images from the second world war and the current war. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/The Guardian“The new war has allowed us to quickly solve some questions that we had postponed for the next generations,” said Savchuk. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/The Guardian“That was really a time when the city showed itself to be proudly Ukrainian,” said Valentyna Vynychenko, a 74-year-old tour guide from the city. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/The GuardianHe lives just a few kilometres from the places where he once fought, and like many of his generation, he misses the Soviet Union.