In Kyiv, authorities turn places hit by Russian missiles into tourist attractions: Reporter's notebook

It starts as a typical historical sightseeing tour. The guide shows us around the Babi Yar memorial. Once a high-end neighborhood of Kyiv, it became a place of one of its biggest tragedies - a mass murder of Jews and gypsies by the Nazis in September 1941. According to various estimates, up to 30,000 people, including children, were shot dead or hung in this place.

As the guide continues, we see how the tragic past suddenly evolves into tragic present.

The group stops by a TV tower, the tallest building in the city and one of the tallest in the world. Russian missiles hit it on March 1, leaving five people dead and five wounded. The strike disrupted the work of a few Ukrainian TV channels, but the broadcast was resumed two hours after the emergency service repaired the operational center of the tower.

"Russia wanted to make us deaf and blind," Liudmyla, a 46-year-old resident of Kyiv, said. "But the tower withstood. So will Kyiv and Ukraine. We need to be aware of what is going on in the city. That's why I'm happy that the excursion route includes such places."

Kyiv was hit by a barrage of missiles throughout the city from the first days of war. Since then, 150 residents have died, more than 300 have been wounded, according to the local authorities. Western intelligence predicted the fall of the city into Russian hands within 48 hours after the invasion. Instead, the Ukrainian army fought back against the Russian troops, which had to move to other areas in Ukraine in mid-March.

"When we saw that the security situation was improving, we started thinking ahead; how to turn our wounds into advantages," Daniil Barashkin, head of the Kyiv tourist information center told ABC News. "The destruction always terrifies people, that's why it can be very attractive. But at the same time, when we see it, we start appreciating life more."

Now there's a route organized by the Kyiv tourist center that includes the places damaged during the Russian invasion. But the authorities plan to do more, in particular bus tours around the city to show the destroyed residential buildings and a tour around a governmental quarter, which is now heavily guarded.

"I walk in the streets and often see people, including foreigners, looking at some places and discussing how they looked before the war. People are interested in knowing more," Barashkin said.

The first route organized by the city tourist center attracted almost 50 people. Around 30 attended the second one.

"People come themselves, just after seeing the announcement, and we can't ban them from coming. It's just so cool to see that they are so eager," Barashkin said.

As we go, the air raid siren goes off.

"We don't hide anymore; let's continue the tour," one of the participants said. "If something happens, we usually pause the tour and proceed to the nearest shelter," Barashkin said. "Before adopting the route at the mayor's office, we made sure it is safe for the people."

The capital's mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, urges people not to neglect the sirens and reiterates that although now quiet and peaceful, Kyiv is still under threat of missile strikes.

"Unfortunately, we cannot provide 100% security guarantee to those who come to Kyiv," he told ABC News. But people should see and remember, how the city suffered and at what price withstood the Russian attack.

"The places we show in this excursion are part of the tragic history of Ukraine, a history of our courageous fight for our cities, our country and our future. They demonstrate that Russia brings war and deaths to our land. People need to see this and never have any illusions about any 'brotherhood with Russia," Klitschko said.

The last highlight of the excursion is the building of the Artem military concern, which was hit twice by missiles. The building is still partially damaged and uninhabited.

"It's sad and frightening," Iryna, a 61-year-old resident of Kyiv, said. "However, I wouldn't even repair these buildings and leave them as a reminder of what we've come through," she said.

"I feel sympathy for the people who suffered due to this war. I want to go around such places and see how I could help my city," Ruslan, a 24-year old Kyiv resident, said. "All these events have been a horror, but the tragedy united all the Ukrainians."

Ironically, the Artem concern, founded in the last years of the Soviet Union, was named after a famous communist Artem, who founded a puppet republic in the east of Ukraine and fought against the Ukrainian nationalists in the early 20th century.

"So it appears that my excursion route tells a bit about the Ukrainian nationalist movement that existed 100 years ago. But this is something that Russia does not recognize and is trying to destroy now, killing thousands of people in Ukraine. And show that, too," Vlad Balan, a tourist guide told ABC News. "But I hope that in the future, I will take the guests around the places that demonstrate development and achievement, not death and destruction. I'm sure it will happen soon."