The Ukraine conflict escalates. Russia attacks. Chaos reigns in the country. Some reports give impressions of the war on the ground.
Kiev/Kharkiv – Since Thursday morning, the news about the Ukraine conflict has been pouring in. Russia has launched a major attack on Ukraine. It’s war. The reality that goes hand in hand with this is easily lost in the flood of information and international reactions. Our editorial team has exclusive information from civilians from different parts of Ukraine, which paints a picture of what is happening in Ukraine right now. For the safety of the people, the names have been changed by the editors.
In the city of Kharkiv, near the Russian border, like in many other places in Ukraine, people woke up at around 5 a.m. to the sound of explosions. There the military airport Chuguyev and radio towers were attacked. People who have not previously shopped and stocked essentials have flocked to supermarkets and gas stations to stock up on essentials.
Ukraine conflict: Withdrawing cash is almost impossible
“People stood in line in front of grocery stores for hours and tried to withdraw money in a panic,” reports Mikhail, a native of Kharkiv who lives in Munich.
He spent the whole day trying to keep in touch with relatives from his native town. Only a few residents were able to withdraw cash. The Central Bank of Ukraine has limited cash withdrawal options. In addition, cash was no longer available in most ATMs due to the mass withdrawals in the morning hours.
Ukraine conflict: Russia’s tanks drive through the streets
Those who could stock up on flour, pasta, water and other food. “Like many of the neighbors, my grandmother poured purchased drinking water into the bathtub to create a water supply – the tap water is hardly drinkable,” reports Michail. Schools and pharmacies have not even opened their doors. During the course of the day, the surreal background noise changes for the people on site: you hear bazookas. Russian tanks are said to have been on the way to the Chuguyev military base on the eastern bypass of the city of Kharkov.
In the middle of the city there is a combination of a state of emergency and everyday life: people go to work, trams and metro rides. “Unlike yesterday, however, the metro is free,” said the Kharkiv native. The background: The stations act as bunkers, people can get to safety there. In the evening hours, many people now stay permanently in their basements or public buildings such as schools for the night.
The mayor of Kharkiv calls on the people of Ukraine’s second largest city to calm down and emphasizes: “We Kharkiv people will get through this.” There is no mention of “Ukrainians”. A worrying sign for Mikhail. In other Ukrainian cities like Sumy, according to his relatives, Russian tanks are said to have driven through the streets. The direction in which the tanks moved leads, among other things, to the capital Kiev.
War in Ukraine: sirens, explosions and panic flight
In Kiev, people heard sirens blaring across the city. Both in the morning and again in the afternoon, air alerts were sounded because of the Russian attack. Here, too, people try to stock up on essential groceries or to flee. Packed cars are stuck in traffic on the roads leading out of the city. Rising clouds of smoke partially mark the cityscape. Our contact from Kiev, Yevgenia, reports that she and her acquaintances tape the windows of their apartments and houses so that they are not injured by glass splinters in the event of nearby explosions.
Since five in the morning, Yevgenia reports hearing explosions in the city area. Most people try to stay in their homes. Helicopters and military planes fly over the city and in the event of explosions, people flee to their basements or to nearby metro stations. Evgenia had to run to the basement of the apartment building several times today with her roommates. She also reports on the great willingness of the Ukrainians to fight against the Russian troops. Many of her acquaintances have already volunteered for military service or plan to do so in the coming days.
Now Yevgenia is sitting in a car and doesn’t know where to go. She made the decision to leave Kiev shortly before. Her friends, who are fighting in the Ukrainian National Guard, have let her know to leave the city within the next hour and a half. They assume that Kiev is being bombed and will soon be in Russian hands. It could only be a few hours until then. She is ashamed of her decision to run to safety.
However, the invasion of Russian troops has completely different effects on the reality of life for many Ukrainians: Mihail reports that some Ukrainian workers for US companies have lost their jobs. An IT company has tied employment contracts to the condition that there is no war in Ukraine. People who were employed in such employment relationships suddenly lost their jobs in the morning hours. A relative of his from Kharkiv is in exactly this position.
Kiev: Russian troops move towards capital
Russian troops are increasingly moving towards the capital Kiev. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has already announced that the military airfield near Kiev has been taken by the Russian army. Antonina, a native of Kiev who lives in Munich, talks about her brother in the military. He was involved in preparations to defend Kiev’s main airport, Boryspil. Fearing for her family in Kiev, she could hardly put her smartphone down today.
Since the attack by Russian troops on Thursday, the Russian army has already attacked numerous military bases in the form of air and ground forces. Fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops broke out in many places, including in the Chernobyl area. According to information from the Ukrainian government, not only Ukrainian soldiers but also civilians are said to have fallen victim to the Russian attack. (at)
