Before the full-scale invasion, every summer millions of Ukrainians headed to the sea, and resorts like Zatoka, Zheleznov Port and Berdiansk were a familiar holiday destination for many: crowded beaches, recreation bases, hotels, cafés and long evenings by the water. RBC-Ukraine's Styler entertainment project has gathered archival footage of these destinations as they were remembered before 2022 — as a visual chronicle of carefree summer leisure that the war radically changed. Below is what these resorts looked like at the peak of the season and what has become of them by 2026.
Zatoka: a resort that remained on Ukrainian soil
Zatoka in Odesa Oblast was, until 2022, one of the most famous seaside resorts in Ukraine. At the height of the season, thousands of tourists came here, and the long sandy beaches of the Black Sea were packed with holidaymakers, leaving almost no free space. Along the coast, recreation bases, hotels, cafés, restaurants, shops and entertainment venues operated, and the resort was valued precisely for the opportunity to spend a holiday by the sea without travelling abroad. Archival records well convey this dense, noisy tourist life, which today contrasts with modern footage: where the season once bustled, the war has left damaged facilities and empty areas.
Zheleznov Port: a carefree summer that became an archive
Zheleznov Port in Kherson Oblast was, before the full-scale invasion, one of the popular destinations for summer leisure: sandy Black Sea beaches, affordable accommodation and numerous venues for tourists. In summer it was crowded from early morning — cafés and shops operated on the coast, and in the evenings holidaymakers strolled along the promenade and spent time in entertainment venues. It was exactly like this — loud, crowded and carefree in a summer way — that the resort was remembered in archival videos. After the invasion began, Zheleznov Port fell under occupation: it is located on the left bank of Kherson Oblast, which is controlled by Russian forces, so returning there for a regular beach holiday is now impossible, and pre-war records remain the main archive of what the resort was like before the occupation.
Berdiansk and the Berdiansk Spit: an Azov resort under Russian occupation
Berdiansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast has for many years welcomed tourists from various regions of Ukraine, and one of the main locations was the Berdiansk Spit with its beaches, recreation bases, sanatoriums and other resort infrastructure. In the season the city came alive: the beaches were crowded, cafés and attractions operated, and the resort area filled with holidaymakers. After the full-scale invasion began, Berdiansk fell under temporary Russian occupation — Russian forces captured the city at the end of February 2022. Today, footage of pre-war Berdiansk shows not just a place for a summer holiday, but a Ukrainian city as it was before the occupation.
Different fates: occupation and shelling
It is important to distinguish the statuses of the three resorts, since their post-war fate is not the same. Unlike Zheleznov Port and Berdiansk, Zatoka is not under Russian occupation and remains on territory controlled by Ukraine. However, the war has also significantly changed life in the settlement here: the resort was repeatedly subjected to Russian shelling, and due to security risks and restrictions on access to the sea, it can no longer operate as it did before 2022. Thus, the pre-war archives of Zatoka, Zheleznov Port and Berdiansk are today not just a nostalgic collection, but a documentary contrast between a peaceful resort summer and the consequences of the war, which persist as of 2026.
