Fight or flight? Ukrainians consider their future
STORY: Ukrainians awoke in the early hours of Thursday (February 24) to the sound of explosions and sirens as Russian forces invaded.
Russian missiles rained down on Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv.
This woman says she lives close to where a missile fell.
"First of all, I heard a terrible terrible explosion, of unbelievable power. Then I jumped up, I didn’t know where to go. Panic kicked in."
While there is panic in western Ukraine; in the east, some are welcoming the Russians.
In the breakaway region of Donetsk, military recruits waited for buses, ready to fight alongside them.
Russia this week recognised the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic regions, drawing sanctions from the West.
DONETSK RESIDENT, ELEONORA: "Yes, I have heard Putin's speech. That's well done by the Russians - they are helping us, God bless them. I was born and raised here, all my ancestors are buried here. For me, this city is my Motherland."
Many Ukrainians have decided to flee.
In Kyiv, huge traffic jams blocked roads as people tried to leave the capital.
MAN: "It is horrible, what can one think?"
REPORTER: "Where are you going?"
MAN: "To fetch the children and take them to safety."
Others stood in long lines hoping to withdraw money and stock up on supplies.
Flights have been cancelled, leaving many stranded.
TRAVELLER FLYING FROM KYIV TO BAKU, GULNARA: “No one is helping us now. No one is telling us what happened, what will happen to our flight, what should we do, where to go. We have no place to go to.”
Some who managed to escape crossed the border into neighboring Poland.
Lines were growing at the normally quiet Medyka crossing throughout the day.
ENGINEER FROM LVIV, IVAN YUROCHKO: “It’s not crisis, it’s war, it’s disgusting. It feels like my family stays in Lviv and I feel like, I don’t know when I will see them, I don’t know if any of them will die, if my friends will die.”
Queues formed in Kharkiv of people waiting to donate blood.
This nurse says hundreds had already donated, and more were waiting in line.
As uncertainty sets in, many Ukrainians have vowed to defend their country.
DRIVER STUCK IN TRAFFIC, ALEKSANDER: "I myself I am from Lviv. The mood is patriotic, I will take my children away and return, we will fight this off, Ukraine will win, no matter what.”
Russia's assault is the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two.
