'The worst sunrise in my life': Ukrainians describe waking up to Russian attack
The missile fragment pierced the ceiling of Mikhail Shcherbakov鈥檚 apartment in Kharkiv, Ukraine鈥檚 second largest city. A Russian attack, after weeks of warnings, had hit home.
鈥淚 heard noise and woke up. I realized it sounded like artillery,鈥� Shcherbakov said. He jumped from the couch and ran to wake his mother, and something exploded behind him.
The missile left a nearby computer and teacup shrouded with dust, instant artifacts of Europe鈥檚 latest crisis.
At dawn on Thursday, Ukrainians鈥� uneasy efforts at normality were shattered. Smoke rose from cities, even well away from the country鈥檚 disputed eastern border.
鈥淭oday I had the worst sunrise in my life,鈥� said another Kharkiv resident, who gave her name only as Sasha. She rushed to her balcony and realized the sounds that had woken her weren鈥檛 fireworks.
Farther from the border, a morning commute transformed into chaos, with lines of cars waiting at fuel stations or fleeing from the gray and drizzly capital, Kyiv. People carrying luggage took shelter in the subway, unsure of where to go.
Some panicked. Others clung to routine, with irritation.
鈥淚鈥檓 not afraid. I鈥檓 going to work. The only unusual thing is that you can鈥檛 find a taxi in Kyiv,鈥� one resident complained, as air raid sirens wailed.
Many seemed unsure how to react. Kyiv鈥檚 main street, Khreshchatyk, rippled with anxiety as people checked their phones. Some walked their dogs or waved at friends.
鈥淚鈥檓 not scared at the moment. Maybe I鈥檒l be scared later,鈥� resident Maxim Prudskoi said.
But elsewhere in the capital, Anna Dovnya watched soldiers and police remove shrapnel from an exploded shell and was terrified. 鈥淲e have lost all faith,鈥� she said. 鈥淯ntil the very last moment, I didn鈥檛 believe it would happen. I just pushed away these thoughts.鈥�
In Mariupol, the Azov Sea port city that many feared would be the first major target because of its strategic importance, AP journalists saw similar scenes of mixed routine and fear.
Some residents waited at bus stops, seemingly on their way to work, while others rushed to leave the city that is less than 10 miles from the front line with the Donetsk People鈥檚 Republic, one of two separatist-held areas recognized by Russian President Vladimir Putin as independent this week in a prelude to the attack.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 do anything. I鈥檓 just stuck standing here,鈥� said one Mariupol resident who gave only his first name, Maxim, after running around the city since sunrise in search of cash or a full tank of gas, in vain.
At a supermarket, retiree Anna Efimova worried about her mother, who she said was busy stocking her basement with supplies. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nowhere to run, where can we run?鈥� she said.
As the day progressed, alarm rose across Ukraine. People crowded grocery stores. In Kharkiv, worried residents inspected fragments of military hardware strewn across a children鈥檚 playground.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko called on the city鈥檚 3 million people to stay indoors unless they worked in critical sectors and said everyone should prepare go-bags with necessities such as medicine and documents.
For weeks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had tried to moderate expectations of aggression by Russia, even as warnings by the United States became more urgent. Zelenskyy argued that panic would lead to societal destabilization that could be as much of a tactical advantage for Russia as the estimated 150,000 troops that had massed on Ukraine鈥檚 borders.
On Thursday, as the president imposed martial law, Ukrainians realized with a jolt that everything was changing.
鈥淚 feel panic, scared and excited. I don鈥檛 know who I should ask for help,鈥� said Kyiv resident Elizaveta Melnik.鈥� We didn鈥檛 believe this situation would come.鈥�
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Francesca Ebel in Kyiv contributed to this story.