In Kyiv, I saw Dante under sandbags – a modern image of the hell of war | Clive Myrie

I've reported on conflicts for 20 years, and I'm not afraid to be blunt about Russia's disgusting war of aggression on Ukraine

I took quite a lot of photos on my phone when I was in Ukraine this year, but this one jumped out at me as I was scrolling through them. Here we have Dante - the Italian poet, philosopher, writer - with his marble head poking up out of the sandbags. It's in a park on Volodymyr Hill in the centre of Kyiv.

It's not just an arresting image. Dante is a harbinger of the Renaissance; he's a symbol of culture and learning. And that is the opposite of war, which is a regression to dark times. This is what Ukraine and Kyiv are having to labour under - and so Dante finds himself stifled by sandbags. Of course, one also thinks of the Divine Comedy and the seventh circle of hell, which is violence. That's what the people of Ukraine have been enduring: a modern circle of hell.

Clive Myrie is a journalist

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here