A star couple of the 1990s — the country’s most famous hairdresser and a world-renowned model, Viacheslav and Iryna Diudenko. This interview is their heartfelt account of the spring of 2022, when even a bouquet of tulips took on the meaning of a symbol of life and love.

The couple did not leave Kyiv despite the threat of shelling, refusing to evacuate because of human bonds, care for their family, their cat, and the city. In the first weeks of the war, they spent their nights in the metro, then set up a temporary shelter right in their building’s entrance hall. This is not just about survival — it is about dignity, deep focus, and care for those nearby. About faith in Kyiv, which became a spiritual shield. About the importance of small gestures — flowers in a ruined city, warmth in the darkness of a basement. And about the conscious decision to stay close to those you love. It is another powerful testimony that must remain in history — as evidence and as memory.