There's a new sign to add to London's A-Z — Kyiv Road.
On Friday 24 February — the first anniversary of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine — a small section of Bayswater Road, between Palace Court and Ossington Street, was renamed in a show of London and Britain's solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
The sign — in the iconic Westminster borough design, and with a W2 postcode — was unveiled by Westminster City Council leader Adam Hug and His Excellency Vadym Prystaiko, Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK.
The address, as it just so happens, is around the corner from the Russian Embassy, the road outside which is daubed in the yellow and blue of the Ukrainian flag at time of writing:
Outside the Russian Embassy in London.https://t.co/abAnYyyHQD pic.twitter.com/DLCU1X27fs
— ianVisits (@ianvisits) February 24, 2023
According to Westminster City Council, the place name was actually requested by the Ukrainian community itself. Said Cllr Hug: "Westminster is home to Ukrainians displaced by the war, and our residents have opened their hearts and their doors to those fleeing Putin's war machine.
"As the centre of an international capital, it seemed to us entirely fitting that part of our City should carry a torch for the unbowed defenders of Ukraine. It's a small stretch of road, but we want to show the people of Ukraine that their struggle has a visible place in our City."
London has a precedent of renaming its place names to mark historic solidarity and extraordinary figures; among them are Windrush Square in Brixton and Mandela Street in Camden.
