Military tourism: foreigners are drawn to conflict zones in Ukraine.

“The Horrors of the Russian Occupation”

Svetozar is the only guide left at the Capital Tour agency in the capital, as the business has collapsed due to the ongoing war.

“The market has totally crashed,” says the man. “We used to conduct tours only in Ukraine: Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa. In the first year of the full-scale invasion, there was no work at all. But last year, the first requests for individual tours appeared, which I developed and named ‘The Horrors of the Russian Occupation.’”

This six-hour tour includes visits to the Kyiv region: Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka, Hostomel, and Moshchun.

Primarily, these are solo excursions, sometimes paired. Svetozar puts a person in his car and, in English, first shares his own experiences from the first days of the invasion.

“I stepped out onto the balcony of my apartment on the left bank on February 24 at 6:30, and three ‘kalibrs’ flew over my head,” he recalls.

Next, the guide shows the client on a tablet what the streets of the towns in the Kyiv region looked like in the early days after liberation, where Russian troops were stationed. He also shows what they look like now. He tells where Russian tanks were positioned and from where they fired on civilians. He brings them to the blown-up bridge over the Irpin River and to a cemetery of cars.

Svetozar mentions that he hasn’t had many military-themed tours. He hasn’t had tourists arriving specifically from abroad to see the places of occupation and combat. Mostly, people who come to Kyiv for business or to visit relatives are the ones who come up with such ideas on-site.

Vitaliy Senyakov, the head of the Kievtrip tour company, shares his views. He and his colleagues conduct tours in Kyiv. Tourists have seen places of shelling, destroyed Russian equipment, and have requested to be taken to Bucha. They have heard a lot about it, as footage of murdered civilians has circulated around the world.

“They wanted to see where it happened, to understand how such a thing could occur,” Vitaliy explains.

The military tours from Kievtrip also include visits to Irpin, Borodyanka, and surrounding areas. Vitaliy's firm has received about seven such requests in the past year.

Unlike tourist companies that were already operating before 2022, War Tours emerged after the start of the large-scale war. Its leader, lawyer Dmitry Nikifirov, describes his project as social and states that he founded it to draw attention to the war.

He also conducts few excursions: about 30 tours in the two years since the company’s inception. And at a time like now—winter, early darkness, power outages, and the constant threat of missile strikes—there is only one tour per month.

“We have tours in the Kyiv region, and we have Kharkiv. There, local residents who are informed meet guests and accompany foreigners, with a translator. Tourists are shown the most affected areas of Kharkiv, the center, and trophies—destroyed equipment. From one of the high-rise buildings, they can see smoke on the line of confrontation 20 kilometers away.”

Dmitry advises foreigners not to rush to Kharkiv, but to first adapt to the curfew and air raid alerts in Kyiv.

All three of my interviewees assure that they warn foreign guests about the dangers.

“They ask me if we (the locals) run to shelters every time. I say: ‘We can’t do it ten times a night, or we’ll die from mental exhaustion. I would advise you to respond to air raid alerts, but if there’s no mass ballistic threat, decide for yourself,’” Svetozar recounts.

They Come Not for Adrenaline, but for Understanding

So who are these military tourists? 80% of them are men, and 20% are women. Their ages range from 18 to 70. They come from the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, and almost every European country.

“Men tend to travel more often because it’s seen as risky. Many tourists don’t want to alarm their friends or parents, so they don’t tell them they’re visiting Ukraine. For them, it’s somewhat like a death zone in the high-altitude Everest, where not everyone returns. We can laugh about it, but in the West, there is this perception that it’s very dangerous here. It may not be a combat zone, but there is a constant threat of missile strikes,” Svetozar explains.

According to the guide, 100% of his clients have come not just to see and satisfy their curiosity, but to support Ukrainians, share in our pain, and wish for our success.

“These are beautiful, moral, ethical people. They come not for adrenaline, but for understanding. They approach, shake hands, and say: ‘We are shocked by what has happened. We support you in this dark time. We are happy to breathe the same air with you, to see what has happened, to hear the true story of what occurred,’” the guide shares.

Sometimes tourists approach locals, asking how they fared during the occupation and what they experienced. After the excursions, they inquire with guides about where to donate. Occasionally, they gift locals power banks or give money to owners of destroyed homes. Locals, by the way, respond positively to foreigners, inviting them to their homes. This creates a new wave of curiosity about their stories, which they are happy to share.

Dmitry recounts memorable guests from abroad: “A budding photographer from the USA, Nicholas. Before coming, he communicated with me for about three months, asking many questions. His grandfather also fought, and the young man heard various stories from him and became interested in the topic of the war in Ukraine. He decided to come because he plans to become a war photographer. In Kyiv, he was lucky to meet and talk with the architect of the Antonivsky Bridge. In Kharkiv, he interacted with locals and wrote a series of posts about this with photographs, aiming to raise awareness among more of his acquaintances about the Ukrainian situation.”

Another tourist of his was Veronica from the USA, who visited Ukraine about a year and a half ago and wants to return in January to see what has changed in the lives of the people she met on her first visit.

A young man named Liu from Malaysia, along with a friend, has been closely following the news since the war began.

He wrote in a review that this trip for him was “a trip to war”: “Within such a tour, you will feel all the bitterness, horror, but also the resistance and victory of all Ukrainians like never before. It will inspire you to rethink this war, to realize that the victims of this war are not just numbers. That the stories are, above all, stories of life and death.”

A 70-year-old man from Australia visited, who travels the world and wanted to spend a few days in Odesa, Kyiv, and the region. For him, it was a new experience.

Megan from the USA told our publication that she came to Ukraine to volunteer and teach English. She has visited Lviv three times for such missions. Last year, she went on a tour of the Kyiv region with War Tours, became deeply moved, and decided to help Ukraine as a paramedic: the girl had been a nurse in the USA.

“I work near the front in the Donetsk region, and although it’s scary, I choose to stay and help those who have no choice but to fight. This time in Ukraine, among the military and civilians, has shown me that strength lies in unity, and Russia will never break the Ukrainian spirit,” she said in a comment to hromadske.

Some tourists cry when they see the destruction. Some curse our neighbors, while others sigh sadly: “And who will rebuild this? Hardly the aggressor.”

Foreigners do not take photos against the backdrop of the war-torn landscape. They do take pictures, but sensitively—without themselves in the frame.

A Contribution to Victory

The prices for tours in the Kyiv region from all three operators are around 150 euros, while the tour to Kharkiv from War Tours is 250 euros. Part of the tour company’s revenue is donated to the Armed Forces of Ukraine: some donate half, while others contribute tens of thousands for specific military requests.

“Russian propagandists, hearing about such tours, lied that we conduct three excursions a day and have a large business,” Svetozar laughs.

Regarding earnings, the guides say that it’s not about that. Although they have heard that there are allegedly agencies that take tourists deep into the east