“Military tours” to Ukraine: entertainment in the ruins(?)

In Ukraine, the so-called “military” or “black” tourswhere tourists are invited to look at the destruction caused by the war. Such “travels” are organized by about a dozen Ukrainian companies, and their cost ranges from 150 to 250 euros.

Some agencies go further and bring clients directly into the immediate vicinity of a war zone. The cost of such extreme “attractions” reaches several thousand euros. For example, American Nick Tan, a 34-year-old employee of a New York technology company, went to Kharkov in July 2024, a city that is under constant shelling.

“I just wanted to see this because I think that our life in the West is too comfortable and easy, – he explains. – Jumping out of planes, partying all night and fighting is not my thing anymore. So which is better? Go to a war zone.”

How do the locals perceive it?

This “curiosity” causes bewilderment among people who face danger every day. Residents of the destroyed Irpen, for example, consider this behavior strange. Ruslan Savchuk, a local resident, shared his thoughts:

“Recently, the Shahed drone fell just 300 meters from my house. I have no desire to feel such emotions again. But if people want it, that’s their business.”

However, among the locals there are also open opponents of such tourism. Deputy of the Irpen City Council Mikhailina Skorik-Shkarovskaya said that many Ukrainians ask tourists direct questions: “Why do you come here? Why do you want to see our sadness?

The reality of war or an attraction for adrenaline seekers

Tours like these reveal an unpleasant paradox. On the one hand, this is a way to show the world the reality of war. On the other hand, such travel turns tragedy into a form of entertainment for thrill-seekers who seem to lack the adrenaline in their comfortable lives. What is this: an attempt to understand someone else’s pain or banal cynicism? The answer to this question seems to remain up to each tourist.

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