Ukraine's largest music festival returns with a break from the inescapable reality of war

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — This year, Ukraine’s largest music festival struck a different chord. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls and the hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Instead, beloved local artists graced the stage this past weekend at the Atlas Festival — the first since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 — for a smaller but still ebullient crowd. The stage was erected in a shopping mall parking lot, the only option with a shelter large enough to contain the 25,000 people expected in the event of an air raid.

Carefree youth danced, romanced and sang along, rubbing shoulders with hardened military commanders as famous singers who crooned lyrics imbued with national pride. Music was the main goal, but so was shattering the illusion that the capital is invulnerable to the bloody battles hundreds of miles away.

“Such kind of festivals can’t be separated from the life of the country. The country is at war. The core issues here should relate to the war,” said Vsevolod Kozhemyako, a businessman and one of the founders of the 13th “Khartia” Brigade, now a part of Ukraine’s National Guard and defending the frontline in Kharkiv.

“People who are still young and who don’t join (the fight) should understand that they cannot live in a bubble,” he said.

And yet, a bubble is precisely how it feels to be in Kyiv, as the war approaches its third year. While Ukrainian soldiers are killed and wounded every day along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) frontline in the east, the capital is a contrast with its busy bars and clubs.

Every so often, Kyiv comes face to face with the war. Two weeks ago, a barrage of Russian missiles destroyed a children’s hospital and a private clinic, in one of the deadliest attacks since the full-scale invasion. Residents have grappled with power cuts caused by Moscow’s targeted destruction of Ukrainian energy generation at the height of a summer heat wave.

In every corner of the music festival, visitors were confronted with the inescapable reality that theirs is a country trapped in a bloody war of attrition. Festival organizers hoped to raise $2.2 million (2 million euros) to help soldiers purchase supplies for the front line.

In the mall’s basement parking lot, various military units, from Khartia to the 3rd Assault, offered interactive games to lure donations and possible recruits. A first-person shooter game offered visitors a chance to improve target practice by gunning down shadowy virtual infantrymen. In another corner, medics brandished severed plastic limbs and offered emergency medical training.

The festival concluded Sunday with a much-anticipated performance from Serhii Zhadan and his band Zhadan and Dogs. Zhadan, a celebrated artist dubbed the poet of the Donbas, recently joined Khartia.

“It’s just a small break, an opportunity to take a breath,” said Zhadan, minutes before he took to the stage for a roaring crowd. “The most important things, they are happening over there, at the frontline.”

On stage, Zhadan started with one of his most beloved songs “Malvi” or “Mallow.” The crowd sang along, word for word. “But what can you do with my hot blood,” they chanted. “Who will come at us.”

18-year old Viktoriia Khalis was excited to see his performance. She had been to the Atlas festival once before in 2021. The difference is stark, she said.

“The main thing that has changed, unfortunately, now the festival is connected with donations,” she said. But she also felt more connected to her homeland. “I feel this entire crowd is related to me. I feel unity.”

She was scared there would be another Russian air attack — a music festival with thousands of attendees would be a prime target — but said she couldn’t miss a chance to see her favorite artists.

For Nadiia Dorofeeva, one of Ukraine’s most famous singers, every concert feels different. “Before, when I entered a stage I was thinking only about if I looked good, sang well and if the people got what they came for. But now, I dream of having no air alarms, I am seeing how people cry at my concerts.”

One of Dorofeeva’s songs, “WhatsApp,” is about a girl waiting for her beloved to return from war. “She washed the phone with tears/Like rainy glass,” often moves listeners to tears.

Among the attendees was Lt. Gen. Serhii Naiev, an assistant deputy chief in Ukraine’s General Staff.

“There are well-known artists on stage, they are performing their concerts and there are a lot of Ukrainians around who are donating their money, much-needed money for the armed forces of Ukraine,” he said.

“We understand that our partners are supporting us, but we also understand that we could do a lot by ourselves, to be stronger,” he said.

Follow AP's coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

People enjoy a concert at the Atlas Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 21, 2024. This year, Ukraine's largest music festival struck a different chord. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls and the hundreds of thousands of visitors. (AP Photo/Anton Shtuka)

People enjoy a concert at the Atlas Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 21, 2024. This year, Ukraine's largest music festival struck a different chord. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls and the hundreds of thousands of visitors. (AP Photo/Anton Shtuka)

Serhii Zhadan, well-known Ukrainian writer and poet, leader of music band Zhadan and Dogs, performs at the Atlas Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 21, 2024. This year, Ukraine's largest music festival struck a different chord. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls and the hundreds of thousands of visitors. (AP Photo/Anton Shtuka)

People with painted faces go to the Atlas Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 21, 2024. This year, Ukraine's largest music festival struck a different chord. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls and the hundreds of thousands of visitors. (AP Photo/Anton Shtuka)

People enjoy a concert at the Atlas Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 21, 2024. This year, Ukraine's largest music festival struck a different chord. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls and the hundreds of thousands of visitors. (AP Photo/Anton Shtuka)

People dance waiting for the start of the Atlas Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 21, 2024. This year, Ukraine's largest music festival struck a different chord. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls and the hundreds of thousands of visitors. (AP Photo/Anton Shtuka)

Serhii Zhadan, well-known Ukrainian writer and poet, leader of music band Zhadan and Dogs, performs at the Atlas Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 21, 2024. This year, Ukraine's largest music festival struck a different chord. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls and the hundreds of thousands of visitors. (AP Photo/Anton Shtuka)

People enjoy a concert at the Atlas Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 21, 2024. This year, Ukraine's largest music festival struck a different chord. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls and the hundreds of thousands of visitors. (AP Photo/Anton Shtuka)

People enjoy a concert at the Atlas Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 21, 2024. This year, Ukraine's largest music festival struck a different chord. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls and the hundreds of thousands of visitors. (AP Photo/Anton Shtuka)

People enjoy a concert at the Atlas Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 21, 2024. This year, Ukraine's largest music festival struck a different chord. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls and the hundreds of thousands of visitors. (AP Photo/Anton Shtuka)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kamala Harris said Thursday that Israel's killing of Hamas' top leader offers "an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza," talking plainly about next steps even as the pro-Palestinian demonstrators who gathered outside her campaign event underscored the complicated politics at play.

The Democratic presidential nominee said the war “must end such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”

“It is time for the day after to begin,” she said, speaking from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee just moments after the White House released President Joe Biden's statement on the death of Yahya Sinwar. Israeli officials said Sinwar was killed in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza.

The administration's response to the killing of a chief architect of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel was carefully choreographed, leaving room for Harris to emphasize the push to end the war as she balances her loyalty to Biden.

With the presidential race at razor-thin margins and the election just a few weeks away, the vice president is seeking to solidify support in battleground states and shore up left flank voters who want to see an immediate end to the bloody conflict, some of whom threaten not to vote for her.

The Biden administration’s support for Israel has complicated her campaign push in metro Detroit, especially in Dearborn, an area home to the nation’s largest Arab American community. The death earlier this month of a Dearborn resident killed in south Lebanon ignited more anger in the traditionally Democratic area.

Speaking Thursday in Flint, Michigan, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she was hopeful for an end to the violence.

“Have the hostages returned and have a solution for long-term peace in the region. That’s everything that I think is so important. And, you know, any chance that we can do that, I think would be welcomed by so many people,” she said.

At Harris' next stop in Wisconsin, at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, her remarks focused on Trump and his falsehoods around the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump is “increasingly unstable and unhinged, and will stop at nothing to claim unchecked power for himself," she said.

William Schauberger, a 24-year-old political science major, said ahead of Harris’ rally that he wasn’t optimistic about prospects for resolving the conflict in the Middle East regardless of the election results. He deemed the loss of life in Gaza “straight up genocide” and predicted “neither party will do anything about it.”

Harris has not proposed any policy shifts on Israel, and her remarks largely echoed Biden's statement. But she has, of late, faced increasing pressure to articulate how she would govern differently from Biden.

While Biden’s favorability ratings remain underwater, some of the biggest pieces of his legislative agenda, from infrastructure to lowering the costs of some prescription drugs, are popular, and signaling any daylight with the president on foreign policy at a time of global crises could be seen as reckless.

Biden's written statement on Sinwar's death — released as he was traveling to Germany for a visit with Chancellor Olaf Scholz — focused on how U.S. intelligence helped the Israelis pursue Hamas leadership and noted that Israel had every right to “eliminate the leadership and military structure of Hamas.”

“Today proves once again that no terrorists anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes,” Biden said.

He said he would speak with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “congratulate them, to discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families and for ending this war once and for all, which has caused so much devastation to innocent people.”

Karnowski reported from La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Long from Washington. Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Milwaukee and Todd Richmond in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Joey Cappelletti in Flint, Michigan, contributed to this report.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak at a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, in La Crosse, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak at a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, in La Crosse, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak at a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, in La Crosse, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, in La Crosse, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about the killing of Hamas' top leader Yahya Sinwar in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, following a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about the killing of Hamas' top leader Yahya Sinwar in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, following a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about the killing of Hamas' top leader Yahya Sinwar in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, following a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)