Russia-Ukraine war: Spooked Ukrainians flee Kyiv as air sirens rent the air

It was panic stations in Ukraine with residents in Kiev making a beeline for gas stations and trying to scramble out of the city by car and rail.

The scurrying had begun just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s tanks rolled over the Belarusian border.

Until now, most Ukrainians were in a state of denial. Many are now in a mad rush to cross the western border to escape the formidable might of the Russian army.

According to western media sources, explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital and other major cities as air raid sirens rent the air. The only activity was either outside gas pumps, ATMs or the Kiev's Metro station with spooked citizens attempting to board trains to flee the Capital city, said western media sources. Some families were merely looking for refuge in the railway station – a well-fortified and robust structure.

Residents were seen travelling to work even as the air raid sirens were heard. The rush to reach office turned into a scramble for the exit points in the city.

Until yesterday, Ukrainians were in a defiant mood. Across the country, people of all ages waved flags or gave a two-fingered salute in the face of the looming war threat with some 150,000 troops massed on the borders. Hundreds had recently unfurled a giant flag at Kyiv's Olimpiyskiy Stadium. But within hours on Wednesday, the grit was gone as citizens fled with their bags and families.

Ukraine's president has declared martial law and urged citizens not to panic but the citizens were taking it more as bluster than rhetoric grounded in geopolitical realities. The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, was heard saying that Ukraine would defend itself against the Russian aggression 'and will win'. The words were lost in the wailing siren, an ominous indication that another air raid was on.