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With his team, Andrii Knyha is bringing new life to Kherson’s city theater as a “third place” – an open space for dialogue, learning, and community. Workshops, culinary experiences, and mental health programs have turned it into a place of strength and an anchor for local people, supported through the EVZ Foundation’s funding program YeMistechko.
What is the role of “third places” in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine? And in spite of all the massive attacks, how does the team in Kherson manage to reach new groups and bring people together in one of the country’s most heavily targeted cities? Andrii shares his perspective in a brief interview about the situation in Kherson.
1. Ukraine’s armed forces liberated the city of Kherson from the Russian army on 11 November 2022. However, parts of the region on the left bank of the Dnipro remain under Russian occupation, and the city continues to face regular shelling. What is life like for the people of Kherson today?
Sadly, around 70% of the Kherson region is still occupied. My hometown of Oleshky is among the places still temporarily under Russian control. If you look on the map, it’s just four kilometers across the Dnipro from Kherson. Russian forces shell the city from there every day.There was an enormous sense of optimism after Kherson’s liberation. Everyone hoped the whole region would soon be freed and that victory would come quickly. But things turned out differently. Almost three years have passed since then, and the situation has only grown worse.
Today, Kherson faces destruction on a daily basis. Explosions are heard almost every hour. There has been a sharp increase in enemy drone activity, too. The frightening thing is that unlike in regions further from the front line, there are no air raid sirens here to warn people so they can look for shelter. The blasts come from artillery and mortar fire, from bombs dropped by drones or FPV drones from across the river. You hear them being launched in the distance – and the detonation comes within four or five seconds. Drones are even worse: you barely hear them in advance, only the sudden explosion. Sadly there are casualties every day – people wounded or killed. And yet the city endures. Kherson lives on and resists the enemy.
There are something like 70,000 people currently in the city. Some never left and endured the occupation. Others fled here from destroyed villages in the region. Still others have returned from abroad despite the danger. And they all say the same thing: better to live under shelling than under Russian occupation.
2. The “third place” in Kherson was one of the first projects supported through the EVZ Foundation’s YeMistechko program. Can you tell us how this works in the theater now? Who goes there, what are people’s expectations, and why is this space so important for the community?
Our project was part of the first wave of “third places”, so we and our visitors are very grateful to the EVZ Foundation for making it possible. We renovated the theater’s shelter, fitted it out, and installed the necessary technology. For more than six months now it has been used to host regular community events.
Our “third place” welcomes all kinds of people: young people, families with children (mostly women with children), internally displaced people, and Kherson residents who have remained despite the danger. For some it’s a chance to take a break and escape the constant shelling; for others it’s a space for learning or creative activity. For children, it’s a safe place to play and develop. Many have now got used to coming here to play, charge their devices, or watch cartoons.
Visitors’ expectations are simple but deeply important: they want a place to gather where they will find support and community, where they can talk, learn something new, and feel that life is going on – and get the sense that the city is still alive. This space has become invaluable for the community because it helps preserve normality in abnormal conditions. It gives people a feeling of safety, belonging, and support – exactly what Kherson’s residents are most in need of right now.
3. Looking at Kherson – a city defending its right to exist on a day-to-day basis – why do you think it’s so important to support Ukrainian communities not just with humanitarian aid but also with socio-cultural and political projects? How do you see the future of this space and other “third places”?
Supporting socio-cultural and political projects in cities under fire is a contribution to human dignity and to the future. War doesn’t just destroy buildings: it erases places of encounter, traditions, rituals, and the very possibility of feeling part of a community. If culture is lost, people lose memory, the sense of home, and the strength to rebuild. That’s why help cannot only be material. People need spaces where they can heal, meet one another, relearn how to live side by side, and rebuild the communities that the war has shattered.
Our “third place” in the theater is not just a renovated shelter which has been fitted with technical equipment. It’s a room where women can share their worries over tea without fear, where children laugh and draw, where people reclaim a small part of their everyday lives. We see trust forming here. People may come for something simple – to charge a phone or watch a cartoon – but they stay for a conversation, a workshop, or a volunteer activity. These small rituals are the strongest counterforce to war because they preserve humanity.
For the future, I dream of a network of such places across the region: permanent centers in towns and mobile hubs in villages. They would combine humanitarian support with education, creativity, and civic engagement, build up local teams, and open paths to financial sustainability. An investment of this kind doesn’t just ease daily life, it gives people the foundation to rebuild their communities and rediscover joy and hope.
After all, reconstruction doesn’t begin with concrete and bricks, but with the return of familiar smiles, encounters, and the chance to create something new together.
