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After two weeks of relative peace, the Russians fired deadly missiles into Ukraine on Wednesday. NU.nl reporters Matthijs le Loux and Bas Scharwachter noticed in Kyiv that not every Ukrainian goes into the shelter when the air raid siren goes off. We called Matthijs about that decision.

You were woken up just before six this morning by the air raid siren. In recent days you have heard from many residents of Kyiv that they hardly go into the shelter when the air raid siren sounds. Then why did you go now?

Matthijs: “There are two types of air raid sirens in Ukraine. The first type goes off as soon as fighter jets take off somewhere in Russia or Belarus. These jet fighters can fire super-fast hypersonic missiles, so you barely have time to take shelter. So as soon as such a fighter jet takes off somewhere , the air raid siren immediately goes off throughout Ukraine.”

“But that is not a targeted alarm at all, the rockets could then fall anywhere in Ukraine. Most people in Kyiv no longer go into the shelter for that. Because that happens almost every day – or night – often several times a day. , often for a few hours. Then at a certain point you would go completely crazy.”

And the second type of air raid siren? When will the residents of Kyiv go to the shelter?

“When cruise missiles are fired, it is much clearer which direction they are going. Then the air raid siren is much more specific. Moreover, the Ukrainians all have Telegram groups in which private individuals, on a voluntary basis, have been warning where missiles are flying since the beginning of the war. “

“They have now become very good at this, so it is specifically stated where a missile is flying at that moment and which direction it is going. This way you can track almost in real time where the missiles are going. Based on that information, the Ukrainians sometimes decide but to go into the shelter.”

And that’s what happened this morning. How exactly did that go?

“As mentioned, the air raid siren goes off almost every day, so we were prepared for this to also happen during our stay in Ukraine. My colleague Bas and I had agreed to go into the air raid shelter the very first time the air raid siren went off. Even if it were such a general air raid siren, just to experience it.”

“But since our arrival in Ukraine last Sunday we had not heard the air raid siren. Not once. Quite a strange sensation, because you are waiting for it anyway. Although you secretly still hope that the air raid siren will never have to go off. .”

“We always have a ‘grab bag’ with important things next to our bed. I grabbed it immediately and quickly put on my clothes. This way it only takes you a minute to get out of your room and into the shelter.”

The apartment building that was severely damaged by the well-functioning anti-aircraft system. Photo: NU.nl/Bas Scharwachter

Did everyone in your hotel go into the shelter?

“No. We were there with about seven people, mainly foreign hotel guests. Our fixer (the local assistant of Bas and Matthijs, ed.) As an Eastern Ukrainian, he is used to much worse threats. He also slept in our hotel, but turned away nice again.”

“The hotel staff didn’t seem very impressed either. The lady who normally serves breakfast every day walked in and out of the shelter to get us coffee. Quite strange to see, actually.”

But Kyiv really came under fire today, right? Then why didn’t everyone still take it seriously?

“Our fixer explained that our hotel is very close to Maidan Square, right in the center of Kyiv. That place has pretty much the best air defense in the country. So the fixer thought, ‘We’re pretty safe here, it’ll all be here let’s run wild.’ From the basement we also heard the explosions of the anti-aircraft system. A sharp thud, as if a heavy door kept closing.”

And yet this morning four people were killed and more than forty injured in Kyiv.

“Yes, but that was not directly due to a rocket impact. The anti-aircraft system did its thing and shot down the rockets. But the debris that fell from the sky as a result of that explosion still caused major damage to an apartment building. So it was not a direct hit, but a kind of ‘collateral damage’.”

After three hours of air raid sirens you were finally able to leave the basement. Then you drove to that apartment building. What was that like for you?

“Then you are forced to face the facts. The day before, all those people in Kyiv had told us that they hardly go into the basement anymore because everything is going wild. As a result, we had become a bit blasé ourselves.”

“But as soon as you drive to such a place, you realize that the danger is still there. People are just dying. That does have an impact on you.”

Dozens of missiles on five regions

The Russians fired dozens of missiles and drones into the regions of Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv on Wednesday morning. In total, five people were killed and about fifty injured, most of them in Kyiv. Dozens of houses, apartment complexes, cars and an underground gas pipeline were damaged by rocket hits or missile interceptions.

Matthijs: “At the end of December there was also a wave of major attacks on various cities. Sometimes there were more, other times less. People in Kyiv had already warned us that there would be no air raid sirens for a few days now. sounds, probably means that the Russians are saving their missiles for a larger attack. Such a large attack makes more of an impression than one missile at a time. And the more missiles Russia fires at the same time, the greater the chance that one will penetrate its air defenses breaks away from Kyiv.”

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2024-02-07 21:22:02
#Ukrainians #reporters #decide #shelter #War #Ukraine