Kyiv yoga instructor: “Kyiv is turning into a frontline city — it’s hard to breathe there”

Kyiv yoga instructor Yulia recorded a video address after a powerful explosion near her home that, in her words, “shook the entire building,” and described how life in the capital has changed amid relentless Russian strikes.

According to Yulia, Kyiv has now been under constant air attacks for eight days. On Wednesday, she conducted all seven of her training sessions to the sound of explosions.

“Absolutely every single session I flinched. At certain moments I even screamed, because you can’t know how your nervous system will react to any given explosion,” the instructor said.

According to her, residents of the city “wake up to explosions, go to sleep to explosions, take their children to kindergartens, and work to explosions.”

Yulia stressed that she does not want to portray what is happening as a display of Ukrainian resilience.

“I don’t want to romanticize the indestructibility of Ukrainians. This is not normal. A person should not have to live in such conditions. And this heroism has its price. Kyiv is absolutely turning into a frontline city where it’s not just hard to work — it’s hard to breathe,” the instructor said.

Yulia also added that many residents are not leaving the capital not because they are willing to accept such a life, but because for various reasons they are not yet able to do so.