The employees of Eastman restaurant prepare food in Kyiv on Nov. 4, 2020. From March 20 through April 16, restaurants cannot serve dine-in customers and are limited to providing takeout and delivery. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced nearly 4,000 restaurants to close, leaving only 14,700 in Ukraine as of January 2021, down from a high of 18,600 resturants, according to restaurant consultant Olga Nasonova.
As warm, sunny days arrived in Kyiv, hope was in the air for a more normal spring than last year.
But the record-breaking spread of COVID‑19 pushed Kyiv authorities to delay carefree life in the capital.