kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — Before the Russian invasion, it was an ordinary green lawn in the heart of Ukraine’s capital. Tourists went there to take photos and locals walked there on weekends.

But a thousand days of war have transformed it into a makeshift memorial, dotted with blue and yellow flags, each honoring a soldier who died fighting against Russia. Many were volunteers who gave up their civilian lives to defend their country.

Their loved ones, left alone in grief, hope that their sacrifices will not be forgotten. They plant small, simple flags, hand-marked with the names and dates of their deaths. Over time, the flags have multiplied, fluttering in the wind as the seasons and the war drag on.

“I put it up so that someone could pass by here and see that this person lived and gave his life for us,” said Svitlana Kirichenko, who came from Cherkasy to replace the altered flag she had planted there. more than a year ago in honor of his son. , died in combat. She carefully placed a new one in its place.

“So that we can live peacefully among our own people, without the Russians dictating to us how we should live and what to do.”

Associated Press archives show that the first flags appeared on the lawn in May of the first year of the war, shortly after Russian forces withdrew from the kyiv region and the capital was no longer under threat of an occupation. Photos from that era show dozens of flags neatly arranged in rows on the grassy field.

As the war progressed, the place was transformed. The grass is gone, replaced by busy, cemetery-like paths, winding through thousands of flags. Among them, many portraits appeared – brought by relatives – showing confident, smiling faces in military uniform.

Svitlana Kanevska, wearing a black balaclava to protect herself from the torrential autumn rain, leaned over the portrait of her boyfriend, Serhii Ivanytskyi, who had died a few months earlier in eastern Ukraine. The photo – a selfie he sent her during one of their conversations – showed him standing in a sunny Ukrainian field. Kanevska carefully wiped the droplets from the image.

Since Serhii had joined the army at the start of the war, their time together had been rare, limited mainly to messages. He kept his location and activities hidden, and their conversations focused largely on love.

Last December, during a brief leave in kyiv, they passed this memorial. “He said he felt really sorry for the guys,” Kanevska recalled. He was killed in the summer of 2024.

“You feel so much pain you don’t know where to go or what to do,” she said. That’s what brought her here months ago, to place her flag and photo among the countless others. Kanevska, who works nearby, often comes to mourn.

She is not alone. The place is dotted with fresh and dried flowers, a concentrate of sorrow and the epicenter of Ukrainian history. After all, Independence Square has long been the heart of Ukrainian revolutions. For many, it is the only appropriate place to remember their loved ones.

Municipal authorities have no control over this memorial. It was created by the people themselves, motivated by a deep need to honor their dead in the absence of an official government memorial.

Soldiers and families come here to sit for long periods of time, gazing quietly into the distance. New flags are added almost daily.

Nearby, funeral ceremonies take place almost every day, followed by moments of silence. Passersby stop, kneel, and observe with silent reverence. But soon, life in the capital returns to its usual rhythm.

The memorial continues to grow every day, reminding us of the price Ukraine pays for its freedom.

“If someone thinks of him, it brings light to where they are. He knows he has not been forgotten,” said Andrii Pedychenko, who came to the memorial to install a new flag for his friend killed in action about a year ago. “Every flag is a tragedy. And it reminds us that it’s only a small piece, because there wouldn’t be enough room here for everyone.