The week in Kyiv begins with a ball of fire in the sky. At around 8:30 a.m. local time on Monday morning, it whizzed through the air and was clearly visible from the room of a downtown hotel. Shortly thereafter, a dull detonation sound is heard. Then one more. boom boom An hour earlier, the air alarm sirens had started to wail, and the warning app on the cellphones called “Uwaha, Uwaha” – “Attention, attention”.
But after the many weeks in which the east and south of the country were heavily shelled, but hardly anything in the Kiev area, almost nobody in the capital took the alarm seriously. But now the war of aggression ordered by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin is back in the Ukrainian capital. Seven and a half months after the start of the Russian invasion.
People who strolled relaxed through the sunny, autumnal metropolis at the weekend rush to the bomb shelter. “Hello we are fine. Where are you?” is one of the phrases spoken most frequently into cellphones. Water canisters are set up and sandwiches are distributed. Meanwhile, up on the street, paramedics are tending to people covered in blood who didn’t make it inside a building in time, firefighters are putting out burning cars, and police officers are securing destroyed houses.
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According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, at least five people die and 52 are injured in Kyiv alone. Many were on their way to work when the Russian shells came flying. Many other regions also came under heavy fire this morning. Air alert throughout the country in the morning.
Eleven people have died nationwide, says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Russia is trying to annihilate Ukraine, the head of state said. “We are dealing with terrorists.” International politicians are horrified at this new escalation from Moscow.
Putin ordered the rocket attacks after an explosion rocked the 19-kilometer Crimean Bridge on Saturday. The structure connects Russia and the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014. After Putin blamed the Ukrainian secret service for the attack on Sunday evening, nervousness about a possible further escalation increased internationally.
The western Ukrainian Lviv (Lemberg) is partially without electricity, the city of Kharkiv in the east in some areas also without water. In its most recent attacks, Russia specifically targeted energy plants, says Zelenskyj. Kievans are asked to turn off electronic devices in the evening. This is the only way to get through the peak load period without further shutdowns, writes the deputy head of the presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.
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In the capital, the air raid was over after more than five and a half hours – it had never lasted so long there in this war. Relieved, many people return from the cellars to the streets – others had not even sought protection. “I don’t want to die in a bunker,” says a young man smoking on the sidewalk. “Then I’d rather be here on the street.”
Life quickly returns to the metropolis of millions. Passersby walk dogs, ride e-scooters, get a coffee, a croissant, a sandwich. It almost seems as if the people of Kiev want to show off that they are not going to be intimidated by the Russian attacks.
Barista Juri says he left his café open the whole time and made coffee for the people waiting in the back room – albeit with trembling hands. He’s hardened now, says the young man and smiles: he comes from the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, which has been fought over for eight years. “This doesn’t shock me anymore.”
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A few hundred meters away there is a large impact hole in the middle of a street crossing. There are no windows on the surrounding buildings, and the sidewalk is full of broken glass. Heavily armed security forces cordoned off the area with white and red plastic tape. The windshields of parked cars were shattered. Women in orange safety vests sweep rubble aside.
Pensioner Ihor sits on a park bench in the sun just a few meters from a damaged children’s playground. He says his daughter lives with her grandchildren in Nice, France. She was shocked by the recent attacks on Kyiv and even more shocked when she found out that her dad was sitting outside on park benches again – instead of waiting in the basement to be on the safe side.
“Well, the weather is so nice,” says the older man when asked why he didn’t let the sun walk take him despite Putin’s recent attacks on his neighborhood. “Besides, this is my home. That is my life.”
