Floods, mud and the spoils of war

There are times when travel feels like a frivolous indulgence, and this has been one of those weeks.

Can St Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, survive unscathed?

There are times when travel feels like a frivolous indulgence. Who cares about designer luggage and rain showers when entire bathrooms are being turned into mud baths and wrenched from their foundations? When bombs are raining down on innocent civilians fleeing their homes, their lives reduced to a suitcase? As for Covid-19, that old chestnut …

It’s been one of those weeks. And it comes on the back of countless difficult weeks endured by so many. I’ve found myself looking at pictures of the extraordinary St Sophia cathedral in Kyiv, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed beauty that is all ornate gilded domes, emerald-tiled cupolas and pristine white-washed walls. Inside are priceless frescoes and mosaics, some 1000 years old. Nearby are the medieval churches St Cyril’s and St Andrew’s, both tentatively listed for a UNESCO gong.

Ukraine is home to seven World Heritage sites, including the entire historic centre of the city of Lviv, the castle-like university campus in Chernivtsi, and a quarter of the virgin beech forests of the Carpathians. Collectively, they have withstood invasion by the Mongols, the Russian revolution, Nazi occupation, and conflict between the Orthodox and Catholic churches. Can they survive the current maelstrom? Already, Babyn Yar, a memorial to the 33,000 Jews slaughtered there by German forces during World War II, has been damaged.

Fretting about bricks and mortar is one thing, but the human cost has been horrific to witness. The desire to help Ukrainians is strong and it’s been heartening to read of people booking Airbnbs across the stricken country in a bid to put dollars directly into locals’ pockets. Such gestures are well-intentioned, and it’s laudable that Airbnb is waiving its fees, but caution is required.

Travel news website Skift warns that not all Airbnb properties are owned by private individuals trying to boost their incomes. So-called “superhosts” can be professional managers employed by companies that have dozens of houses and apartments on their books. There’s no guarantee the cash you send won’t go to a real estate mogul who lives far from the war zone, even in Russia.

Meanwhile, on our side of the world, every man, woman and child seems to be “holding a hose” in the great flood clean-up. Honestly, what next? T+L sends our best wishes to readers and travel-industry friends affected by yet another “unprecedented” event. When the time is right, we’ll return to cover those east-coast holiday hubs that need our support. We can only hope to promise the same for Ukraine. It’s at times like these that travel can be a force for good, and there’s nothing frivolous about that.