Might of the Undefeated Exhibition. Tanks on Kreschatyk Street, Kyiv. Much of the equipment of the Ukrainian Armed forces is of Soviet origin. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the high cost of maintenance many vehicles were sold to foreign buyers or put into storage. With the Donbas fighting these were re-commissioned. Nearest the camera, a Strela-10 SAM, Tochka tactical missile carrier, and RS-30 Smerch MRS.
When I visited Kyiv in 2017, I did not imagine that five years later the country would be invaded by a large Russian army. At that time the conflict was in the eastern region of Donbas where tensions between separatist ethnic Ukrainian Russians along with Russian military incursions had fuelled fighting after the 2014 invasion and capture of Crimea. The majority of Ukraine remained peaceful and safe for travellers, and Kyiv had just hosted the Eurovision Song Contest prior to my trip.