Ukrainians describe 'the most awful day' as Russian forces invade
Residents of Kyiv, Kharkhiv woke up to the sound of explosions on Thursday
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People in Ukraine woke up to the sounds of war as Russia launched its invasion in the biggest attack on a European state since the Second World War.
"When I woke in the morning, I heard these sounds that I have never heard in my life before – and obviously it was not … the fireworks," Kseniya Kharchenko, who lives in the capital city of Kyiv, told As It Happens host Carol Off.
Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Kharkiv in the east and Odesa in the southwest, as Russia launched a full-scale attack Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky introduced martial law, saying Russia had targeted Ukraine's military infrastructure and urged Ukrainians to stay home and not to panic.
Kharchenko, who tried to leave the city by car in the morning, said the roads around Kyiv were busy with people trying to flee, and there were long line-ups elsewhere in the city.
"People were standing in lines trying to buy some food and some supplies. There were huge lines [at] the gas stations and there were lines at the banks, people were trying to withdraw some cash," she said.
"Those who wanted to leave, they're still in [the] traffic jam, and those who are staying here, they're looking for the bomb [shelters] and just waiting for what will happen."
Photos from Kyiv show people seeking shelter in the city's subway stations, where Kharchenko said she may go next with her five-year-old son.
Residents are also sheltering in place in Kharkiv, the second largest Ukrainian city located in the northeast of the country about 40 kilometres from the Russian border. "I think that is the most awful day in my life, ever — the most frightening," Kharkiv resident Maria Avdeeva told Carol Off.
"I was hoping that they will start some kind of operation, if they would, from Donbas, and we will have some time to leave if it's needed. But I was not [expecting] that they will start shelling the city," said Avdeeva, who is the research director at the European Expert Association.
Earlier this week, the Russian government recognized the independence of Moscow-backed rebel regions Donetsk and Luhansk in Eastern Ukraine, collectively known as Donbas. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered forces to "maintain peace" in the region.
Our army is resisting fiercely and the citizens will resist.- Maria Avdeeva, Kharkiv resident
In his televised address Thursday morning, Putin asserted the need for military action in Ukraine as a means to protect civilians in Donbas. He claimed that Russia doesn't intend to occupy Ukraine but will move to "demilitarize" and "de-nazify" the country.
But Kharchenko says these are words of a madman. "These are not separatists. There are no people to save in Donbas. This is a Russian invasion."
On Twitter, Zelensky has called for Ukrainians to defend their country, promising to arm anyone prepared to fight. He also urged citizens in Russia to protest their government's actions.
"Our army is resisting fiercely and the citizens will resist," Avdeeva said. "What is most frightening is that we will lose our citizens and the civilians in this fight."
As of 4 p.m. ET, 57 Ukrainians are dead and 169 more are wounded in the Russian attack, according to reports from Ukraine's Ministry of Health.
Kharchenko urged people around the world not to wait idly as the Russian invasion continues.
"The rest of the world should look at the Hitler, look at Stalin, look at what followed, and then have its lessons," she said.
"Or we will pay with our lives, millions of lives. And we will pay with our country, with our independence that we have been fighting for [for] centuries."
Avdeeva has no plans to leave Kharkiv for now. "I do not want to leave and I am ready to fight," she said. "I really believe in our army that they are doing whatever it takes to defend Ukrainians and to defend our country."
Written by Olsy Sorokina with files from CBC News and the Associated Press. Interviews with Kseniya Kharchenko and Maria Avdeeva produced by Katie Geleff.
