Ukraine invasion: Kyiv residents seek shelter as blasts hit
Residents of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, woke to the sound of explosions and sirens, with many now either trying to seek shelter or flee the country.
Some are hunkering down in the city’s metro stations and air-raid shelters. But others are trying to escape.
Traffic is jammed on motorways going west out of the capital towards the Polish border.
So on the streets of Kyiv this morning there are two starkly different tempos.
One of them is strangely subdued. Many people are still going to work as normal – trudging the streets and getting on buses.
The other mood is urgent. Many people have been rushing to air raid shelters or metro stations to take cover. Others are forming long queues at banks, supermarkets, petrol stations. Some are fleeing west by car.
He found a young girl in tears downstairs and took her to the nearest metro station to shelter.
One of Ukraine’s 900,000 army reservists, Mark says he is ready to be called up to fight with Russia.
“We don’t have another way,” he tells me. “We must defend our country. And maybe die in this war.”
Mark says he is prepared to be killed fighting for “every millimeter” of Ukraine.
“It’s only one way – if our military comes to me and says I must die for my country, I will do it.”
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