Ukrainians on edge: this is how the anti-aircraft sirens sound in Kiev [VIDEO]

The sound of anti-aircraft sirens has become a constant during the last 48 hours in various cities of Ukraineafter Russia started a “special military operation” —as the president described on the eve Vladimir Putin— but that in good account it is about the beginning of the war and the invasion of Ukrainian territory.

SIGHT: LIVE | Russia bombs civilian neighborhoods and tightens siege on Kiev

In the middle of the night, the noise that had been feared for days woke up the Ukrainian capital, in panic. At 4:30 a.m., explosions ripped through the sky over Kiev for the first time since World War II. At dawn, the first warning sirens sounded for several minutes through loudspeakers in the capital. It was the first day of Russian attacks on Ukraine.

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“The noise of the bombs woke me up, I packed my bags and ran”, Maria Kashkoska, 29, told AFP. Shocked, this businesswoman claimed to be “prepared for any eventuality”.

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On the balconies, worried and questioning looks could be seen: Was it an airstrike, explosions? What objectives were achieved? An hour after that panicked awakening, nobody knew anything, no information was leaked about the origin or purpose of these explosions in or around the capital.

Without waiting to know, the inhabitants of Kiev set out. The avenues were filled with traffic while it was still dark. Cars full of families were leaving the city, heading west or towards the countryside, far from the Russian border, located 400 km away.

SIGHT: The fierce street fighting in Kiev, under the assault of Russian troops

According to 20 Minutes of Spain, the sirens began to sound in the Maidan square in Kiev, but they can already be heard throughout the city. Anti-aircraft sirens, used since World War II, serve to alert the population of a danger, in this case of the bombing launched by Russia. so that citizens can get to safety in shelters.

A man clears the rubble of a damaged residential building on Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, where a military projectile allegedly landed, on February 25, 2022. (Photo: Daniel LEAL / AFP) (DANIEL LEAL/ )

At the other end of the country, in the coastal city of Odessa and even in Lviv, the western city where the United States and other countries moved their embassies, the sirens, announcing the urgent need for shelter, also sounded every 15 minutes.

This Friday morning, the sirens sounded again in different parts of Kiev while the inhabitants who have not left the city comply with the curfew decreed by the Government and await news about the advance of the Russian troops.

Map showing the points where explosions, shelling and fighting between the Ukrainian and Russian armies took place, as well as the areas where Russian troops went on the offensive and the areas under Russian control, as of February 25. (Map: AFP) (AFP Agency/)

The Ukrainian Army reported this Friday of fighting in the town of Ivanki, 80 kilometers from Kiev, to stop a column of Russian tanks advancing towards the capital from the regions surrounding the old Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

With the penetration of the Russian military in the capital and the approach of tank units, the next few nights are not very reassuring for the residents of Kiev either.

With information from EFE and AFP.

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Source: Elcomercio