A dancer in a bunny mask at a Kharkiv nightclub.
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AMID the missiles and suffering of life on Ukraine’s front line, there is a nighttime venue that refuses to succumb.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, the Flash Dancers strip club remains vibrant – providing a temporary respite for the beleaguered residents.

A dancer in a bunny mask at a Kharkiv nightclub.
The doors of Flash Dancers – a strip club in Kharkiv – remain open despite the raging warCredit: Getty
Flash Dancers club dancers in Kharkiv, Ukraine, applying makeup in a dressing room.
Club dancer Anny, 21, gets her costume and makeup ready ahead of a night of entertainmentCredit: Getty
A dancer in a dimly lit nightclub in Kharkiv, Ukraine, wearing a mask and lingerie, poses with a glowing fabric.
The women-owned business opens nightly – despite a strict 11pm curfewCredit: Getty

Flash Dancers is a female-owned enterprise that welcomes guests each night, defying the 11pm curfew.

It offers exclusive, exotic entertainment to anyone who pays.

Prostitution is illegal in Ukraine, so strip clubs find themselves in legal grey area.

But the law was lightly applied before the war – and now the authorities seem to accept that momentary indulgence can be tolerated.

Valeriya Zavadskaya, the club’s co-owner, told Business Insider in 2023: “Our goal is to be a switch from what is happening.”

Her mother, a former professional Soviet dancer, opened the club a decade ago.

The dancers arrive in the afternoon to practice their routines.

By night time, they’re dressed to the nines in ornate burlesque outfits to entertain their clients.

The club is dimly lit in soft red glow as the doors swing open to welcome customers.

There are never more than 20 in a night – and sometimes no one shows up.

I went on holiday to UKRAINE – I fled £7-a-night hostel during air raid siren on first night…but it didn’t spoil my trip

More than a million residents have fled Kharkiv since war broke out, meaning fewer people are looking for entertainment.

Drinks have also tripled in price since before fighting began.

While the club is a haven for both staff and punters, the signs of war are inescapable.

The windows on the three floors above the club are boarded up after an explosion in the city centre shattered every pane on the block.

And Flash Dancers is underground, so it doubles up as an air-raid shelter.

When the sirens sound, people scurry down to wait out rocket strikes in the red-leather booths surrounding the dance pole.

But despite it all – the doors of Flash Dancers remain open.

Two dancers stretching in a studio in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Flash Dancers club owner Valeria Zavadksa trains a dancer before the club opensCredit: Getty
A dance instructor works with dancers at a Kharkiv dance studio.
Zavadksa is a former professional Soviet dancerCredit: Getty
Pole dancer performing in a dimly lit club in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Pole dancer Nana performs at the clubCredit: Getty

Valeriya says: “It’s something you can’t say with words, but can tell with your body.”

Her founder mother Valeriia Kseniya now has a day job too as director of a small hotel.

She told Business Insider: “For most of us in Ukraine today, it’s difficult to earn a living in just one job.”

In 2014, she heard of a city-centre strip club closing down – and recognised her opportunity to bring her love of dance to the city she called home.

With dreams of a modern-day Moulin Rouge, she hired a handful of women who could dance, and began crafting her vision.

She says: “Everyone initially thought it was a club with happy endings.

“Our position is that girls are not meat. Girls are about aesthetics, about femininity, about beauty.”

Two dancers at a Kharkiv nightclub share a drink.
Dancers Anny (left) and Nana share a drink as the club opens for businessCredit: Getty
Ukrainian servicemen firing a howitzer.
Ukrainian servicemen fire a Howitzer towards Russian troops on a front line in Ukraine’s Kharkiv regionCredit: Reuters
Ukrainian soldiers preparing to fire a cannon.
Ukrainian soldiers prepare to fire a canon in Ukraine’s Kharkiv regionCredit: AFP
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