Der Spiegel journalists travel the Dnipro to examine Ukraine’s identity
- The Dnipro River cuts directly through Ukraine, flowing from northern forests down to the southern steppe, and serves as both the country's deepest cultural symbol and the primary...
- The journey along the Dnipro begins in Demydiv in northern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces successfully repelled Russia's military advance toward the capital in 2022.
- Further south, the river route passes through villages and towns where residents attempt to maintain a peaceful everyday life despite the ongoing hostilities.
The Dnipro River cuts directly through Ukraine, flowing from northern forests down to the southern steppe, and serves as both the country’s deepest cultural symbol and the primary natural obstacle of the war. Flowing through the battlefield in the country’s south, the river forms a permanent frontline dividing Russian-occupied territory from free Ukraine.
Origins in the North and the Defense of Kyiv
The journey along the Dnipro begins in Demydiv in northern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces successfully repelled Russia’s military advance toward the capital in 2022. According to reporting from DER SPIEGEL, journalists Christian Esch and Emile Ducke, alongside producer Fedir Petrov, traveled the length of the riverbanks to examine the nation’s identity and the physical scars left by the conflict. In Ukrainian poetry and folklore, the Dnipro is traditionally personified as an old Cossack dreaming of past glory. The national anthem explicitly invokes the river, stating that Grandfather Dnipro will rejoice when fortune smiles upon Ukraine once again.
Shifting Realities Along the Waterway
Further south, the river route passes through villages and towns where residents attempt to maintain a peaceful everyday life despite the ongoing hostilities. DER SPIEGEL notes that this daily struggle grows increasingly difficult the closer travelers get to active combat zones. While Russian occupation forces briefly managed to cross to the west bank during the first year of the invasion, Ukrainian counter-offensives forced them back. Since that time, the lower reaches of the Dnipro have solidified into a stagnant, heavily defended border between opposing forces.
Conditions in Kherson
The journey concludes in the southern port city of Kherson, described in reporting from DER SPIEGEL as the heart of darkness along the river. In this urban center, aerial drones target elderly residents while remote-controlled ground robots patrol deserted streets.