Stepping inside Natalia Zabolotna's art gallery in Ukraine's capital Kyiv is like walking into another world.
Not just because of the array of modern sculptures and paintings, but because of what visitors leave behind at the door — the ravages of war.
"I opened a gallery in the midst of the war, because I am convinced that we should be doing everything we are able to do to continue creating beauty," Ms Zabolotna told the ABC.
"Because without culture, Ukraine is just a territory. And it's very easy to occupy a territory."
Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ms Zabolotna ran galleries and staged art biennales in Kyiv for years.
When war broke out, she didn't see any reason to stop.
"Art has immense power, especially during the war, because it gives people a chance to switch to a different reality … people have realised that art therapy gives them great relief," she said.
When Ms Zabolotna, 52, shuts the gallery at the end of each day though, she's forced to switch back to life in a war zone.
"In the past few months, we've been feeling more worried to stay on the 16th floor of our 28-floor apartment building, because we hear again and again that loud sound of Russian drones and missiles approaching," she said.
"Our blood goes cold in our veins from horror, because we've seen hundreds of cases when drones have attacked buildings and killed and wounded residents."
So, when night falls and air raid sirens begin blaring across Kyiv, Ms Zabolotna, her 18-year-old daughter ?Katia, and their neighbours head down to their building's underground car park with cushions and blankets, sometimes for hours on end.
"People have got used to this routine," she said.
But they're also exhausted by it.
Which is why Ms Zabolotna says many Ukrainians are feeling cautiously optimistic about the news that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet for peace talks in Alaska this week.
"We have huge hopes for the upcoming meeting," she said.
"We Ukrainians are waiting for peace, we want a ceasefire that would result in peace, so every big diplomatic development such as the upcoming meeting of Trump and Putin and a possible meeting with Zelenskyy with the possible signing of a peace agreement, is a big hope for us."
However, Ukrainians have a deep distrust for Mr Putin and have come to learn they cannot rely on diplomacy alone, so confirmation last week that more patriot air defence systems were on the way is a reassuring backstop.
The Patriot, which is short for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target, is a mobile surface-to-air missile defence system manufactured in the United States.
It is regarded as one of the world's best air defence systems.
"We're thankful for such significant help," Ms Zabolotna said.
"This is a war of technology. We have to defend the sky over our children."
Europe pays for patriots
Analysis by the BBC last week revealed that since Mr Trump re-entered the White House, Moscow has more than doubled its drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.
Last month, the US president announced his country would supply an undisclosed number of patriot air defence systems to Ukraine, but only if they were paid for by European allies.
Each one, together with its ammunition, is worth about $1.5 billion.
Last week, the Netherlands was the first country on the continent to announce its contribution to a NATO-led scheme to pay for the weapons, with €500 million ($894 million).
Sweden, Norway and Denmark subsequently announced they would provide funding for the weapons totalling the same amount.
Separately, Germany says it is delivering two of its patriot systems to Ukraine, after reaching an agreement with Washington that means Berlin will be the first in line to receive the latest systems in return.
Justin Brock, senior research fellow for air power and military technology at the London defence think tank RUSI said the patriot systems would boost Ukraine's air defence capabilities significantly.
"For Ukraine the key thing is that the Patriot is one of the only systems which can reliably intercept ballistic threats, so threats which come in over a very high arc at very high speeds," Mr Brock told the ABC.
"While the Ukrainians have a range of systems that can engage cruise missiles, drones, and potentially enemy aircraft, the Patriot is one of the most in-demand systems because it's the only thing that can engage those ballistic threats."
With several of the systems now paid for, a huge logistical mission begins to move them into place.
"One of the critical concerns will be making sure that the exact timings and routes are not disclosed in any way, inadvertently, to the Russians, because the Patriot is a priority target for Russian strikes," Mr Brock said.
Mr Putin has previously described the Patriot systems as "quite old" and said Russia's weaponry could easily counter them.
Saved by air defences
Back in Kyiv, grandmother and retired general practitioner Larisa Tverdaya, knows how effective air defence systems can be.
One night in June, Dr Tverdaya and her husband were asleep in their apartment when they were woken by the sound of a missile landing outside.
There was no air raid siren warning and no time to get down to their building's bomb shelter.
"There was a huge explosive wave that damaged our building, many people were wounded, but thank God nobody got killed," Dr Tverdaya said.
"A missile blew up and people say air defence shot it down … it all happened so suddenly."
Dr Tverdaya showed the ABC the extent of the damage that is yet to be repaired.
"Our windows and window frames are broken, there's still some broken glass, our bare windows are just covered in plastic now, there's a wall where bricks fell out, other walls were destroyed," she said.
She said she felt relieved to hear more patriot systems were on the way to Ukraine.
"I believe that we can still win this war, but we need help from partners, from any friendly ally," she said.
"We have a sense that European countries behind us realise they don't have any option but help us, otherwise they could be Russia's next targets."
