Kiev woke up on Saturday with members of the Ukrainian Army and armed civilians patrolling the streetsAfter another night full of panic and rumours, shots and blasts that paralyzed the city again and spread throughout the day. On the third day of war, the conflict in the Ukrainian capital turned into a urban warfare in which the Russians tried to seize strategic enclaves and the local Army resisted with force and nervousness, in an attempt to frustrate the Russian siege.
This increase in violence could be seen mid-morning in the plaza Mykhailivska, where while a deputy of the Ukrainian Rada, the nationalist Sviatoslav Yurash, spoke in front of the cameras wielding a Kalashnikov rifle, a flurry of gunfire interrupted the scene. It was about a group of Ukrainian soldiers who were chasing a man who, finding himself surrounded and unable to escape, threw himself to the ground and let the soldiers violently seize him. Shortly after, the group disappeared without a trace, and Yurash continued to give his statement. “Not pass“The very young deputy then said. “The Russians are getting closer,” added a member of the self-defense forces.
The calm, however, barely lasted a few minutes, because soon another bombardment followed and the air-raid sirens sounded again, though-as had happened on occasion before-the sound came with a singular delay. The fact seemed even more curious because of how Kiev had woken up: a ghost town, with practically all shops, restaurants and supermarkets closed. Militiamen and old women wandered around the Plaza de la Independencia (Maidan). In the environment, the flight of many of the 2.8 million inhabitants of the city in search of safer places is perceived.
Also before the delegation of the Kiev region, a few steps from two of the main churches of the city, there was confusion. Nervous and armed soldiers and civilians parked in front of the building and they were suspicious of all strangers what could happen “Don’t provoke! Don’t help the enemy!” One of them shouted threateningly before a group of journalists who were filming nearby.
In the suburbs, of this municipality of 800 square kilometers (a third more than the Barcelona conurbation), the fighting was also at times of some intensity, although reliable casualty counts are difficult to find in the face of lack of truthful information of the contenders. Of course, a residential building on Lobanovsky road (in honor of the player and everlasting manager of Dynamo KyivValeri) was visibly damaged on its upper floors, which were shattered on one side, by the impact of a large caliber projectile, possibly a stray missile or rocket.
Also dramatic scenes were that of dozens of children hiding huddled together in underground shelters, with lost eyes, traumatized by circumstances that they will hardly be able to forget. As well as the images of some newly born, come into the world in hospitals that now have to deal with new emergencies.
Throughout the city, some Ukrainians took advantage of the moments of war detente to stock up on food and other products that may be useful for the coming days. However, inside and outside the very few stores open queues quickly formed, due to the large number of customers and the scarcity of employees who had come to work. And, although the majority remained calm, there were always those who turned out overwhelmed by the situation and the nerves
The rush had a reason: the decision of the Kiev City Council to impose an even stiffer curfew and inform that any civilian who violates it will be treated as an “enemy”, or what is the same: wandering the street between five in the afternoon and eight in the morning is putting life at risk.