On June 22, 1941, at exactly 4 o'clock in the morning, the first German bombs fell on the peacefully sleeping capital of Soviet Ukraine - Kyiv. An almost three-month battle for the city began, which ended in September 1941 with the terrible defeat of the Southwestern Front - the infamous “Kyiv Cauldron.” This book tells the story of an enormous battle that millions of people from all over the Soviet Union went through. The confrontation with the enemy is shown through the eyes of ordinary Kiev residents, generals, military pilots, housewives, Komsomol members, fighters of fighter squads, sailors of the Dnieper flotilla and many others. Small fragments merge into a larger chronicle and give the reader the opportunity to see a huge battle from the most unusual angles. The book was published with public donations.