People stroll as others eat at a sidewalk terrace of a restaurant in downtown Kyiv on May 12, 2020, the day after Ukraine lifted some restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. Ukrainians can now visit outdoor cafes, beauty salons, dental clinics, parks, and squares after a two-month lockdown that began on March 12. Some have even started returning to offices, rather than working remotely.

On May 12, for the first time in two months, life in Kyiv resembled its pre-coronavirus state, made even more glorious by the warm spring weather.

While the city’s residents lined up outside of cafes’ takeout windows and strolled the streets, stores and salons took down their “closed” signs and opened the doors to customers. The roads were packed with traffic jams.