When the full-scale invasion began, the actors of the Kharkiv Puppet Theatre did not leave the city. They gathered inside the theatre building to save themselves — and very quickly began saving others.

Under shelling, they delivered humanitarian aid, performed shows for children in the metro, and part of the troupe later joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the frontline city of Kharkiv, art did not disappear — it became a way to endure.

“Culture is all of us.
Wherever Russians go, they bring Pushkin.
If we stop speaking — we will disappear.”

This is a story about theatre during war — and about why it is essential to develop culture and art in times of existential war.