War in Ukraine: in the streets of kyiv, skateboarding as an outlet

Six months after the start of the war in Ukraine, the streets of kyiv are once again teeming with skateboarders. Faced with daily uncertainty, their board acts both as a remedy and as an outlet. However, nothing is as before for these young Ukrainians, not spared by the conflict. In its misfortune, however, the skateboarding community sticks together. Some host themselves, others manufacture equipment for the army.

Having left to cover the war in Ukraine for Slate.fr at the beginning of the year, the French journalist and photographer Robin Tutenges returned there at the end of the spring. On the occasion of our special issue “We, the Ukrainians”, L’Express publishes the photos of these young people who are trying to resume their lives.

Sasha Burchak, a 22-year-old Ukrainian, skates on a statue in front of the kyiv Opera House, now protected by four improvised walls and sandbags. This economics student took refuge in the heart of the capital, with a skater friend. His room, in the north of the city, near Boutcha, was threatened by the advance of the Russians. He still couldn’t go back. Today, Sasha is mainly trying to return to a normal life.

Several friends of his friends living in Odessa, including Dima (on camera) and Alexandr, came to kyiv after recent strikes in the coastal city. The opportunity for them to start filming their skate sessions again, which they then share on the Internet.

They are not the only ones: skateboarders are back on the streets of kyiv, after having been abandoned for a time for fear of bombs and causing stressful noises for the inhabitants. Now that the war is mainly in eastern Ukraine, the capital is returning to some semblance of normality.

Since the beginning of the war and especially since they started skating again, everyone wanted to create, to live. Many now aim to promote the national scene beyond borders, and to get closer to European skaters.

Mitya, too, starts skating again. In the aftermath of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, the young man left his passion aside to join the territorial defense in Boutcha, his city. However, his board is never far away, engraved on his arm or in his trunk, near the checkpoint where he is now on guard. Behind his beard and his firmly grasped weapon, Mitya is 22 years old.

Daniel (left) and Eric (right) walk past a building destroyed in March in the town of Dnipro, located a few kilometers from the front. Here, skateboarders have deserted the city. Some took up arms, others took refuge in the west. There are only very young people left, like Daniel, Eric and their friend Elia, but their discipline no longer has the same flavor since the war occupies their minds day and night. That day, a new Russian strike north of Dnipro will kill ten people.

Among skateboarders, many were not spared by the war. Kostia Okrugin, for example, spent ten days locked in a basement, while his family home, near Boutcha, suffered from Russian bombardments. A refugee since in kyiv, the 23-year-old young man threw himself madly into the practice of skateboarding. “We have no idea what tomorrow will bring. So we are much less afraid when we skate, we surpass ourselves”. His goal now: to rebuild the house that “his parents, from a modest background, took fifty years to build” and show the world the talent of the Ukrainian skate scene.

The Ukrainian skateboarding community is pulling together. In kyiv, Maksym Pavlenko (left), founder of a skateboard brand, has been hosting a member of the local team for a few months. Maksym has also put his activity at the service of the war, and donates part of his sales to the Ukrainian army. He was the first surprised to see his sales explode like never before.

In Dnipro, another Maksym, considered “the first skater” of the city, has also decided to participate in the war effort. He transformed his sewing workshop, where he normally made saddlebags for cyclists and skaters, into a real war workshop. From now on, he makes then sends grenade cases and small bags for ammunition to the front.

This article is from our special issue “We Ukrainians”on newsstands August 24, in partnership with BFMTV.