Opening on a street where Putin planned a conquerors’ parade two years ago, the shop’s very existence speaks of optimism. But an air of resignation prevails

There is a coffee bar, a space for ­literary events and thousands of books displayed on the ground floor and in the large brick-lined basement. Signs point customers to sections: novels, history, fan fiction and foreign literature.

Welcome to Sens, Ukraine’s biggest bookshop in the heart of Kyiv. With unlikely timing, it opened its doors last week, two years after Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion.

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