Ukraine war: ‘Flowers continue to bloom’ in ghost city as florist stays open to cheer people up
- For several days, the Russians have bombarded Mykolaiv, which lies on the road to Odessa, and thousands of civilians have fled, leaving the city nearly empty
- ‘We didn’t know the war was coming. Flowers continue to bloom in our region and we don’t want to throw them away,’ florist Angela Kalisnik said
Most business owners have shut up shop and fled Ukraine’s Mikolaiv, but florist Angela Kalisnik continues to sell tulips and roses just a short drive away from the frontline.
“We didn’t know the war was coming,” the 25-year-old said. “Flowers continue to bloom in our region and we don’t want to throw them away.”
Snow falls on the wide streets of the deserted city, and only a few people have ventured out in the bitter cold. Outside the city, soldiers are fighting off invading Russian forces.
But inside Kalisnik’s shop, multicoloured bouquets line the wall, and against all odds, there have been customers. A man steps out the door with a huge bouquet for his mother’s birthday. A few days ago, a passer-by dropped in to buy a bunch for a woman who had found and returned his lost wallet.
Many soldiers flocked in to buy flowers for their girlfriends for Women’s Day on Tuesday, said Kalisnik, who closed her shop a week after Russia invaded her country on February 24, then decided to reopen.
“War is war, but people continue to live, to celebrate birthdays,” she said. “We need to cheer people up and keep the economy going.”
A short walk away, dozens huddle in a queue for an ATM. Some have been waiting for more than two hours. Vitaly, who would only give his first name, is annoyed. “I don’t understand, two days ago, everything was normal,” he said. “But now we can only take out 400 hryvnia (US$13) at a time,” so have to withdraw several times in a row.