Wrath of the Russians

Ukraine faces a grim security situation and a shortage of essential supplies. While the country appreciates President Zelenskyy’s leadership, many residents are fleeing to safety

- MAKSIM URAKIN/Kyiv

Ksenia, a 25-year-old Kyiv resident, has never been a supporter of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. She voted against him in 2019, but his heroic fightback against the Russian invasion has made her a big supporter of the president. “The first day of the war was scary. Any other person would have run away or surrendered the interests of our country. But Zelenskyy organised a bold resistance. We believe him,” said Ksenia. Zelenskyy’s approval ratings have gone up from a modest 25 per cent to 91 per cent.

The Russian military started its full-scale invasion on February 24. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aim is no longer limited to resolving the eight-year-old dispute over the Donbas region. He is now trying to neutralise Ukraine’s military power and force the country to abandon its plans to join NATO.

Once the invasion began, life in the capital, Kyiv, and other cities changed dramatically. According to UN estimates, more than six lakh Ukrainians have fled in the first five days of the war. They first moved to the western border, from where they are trying to reach western and central Europe through Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania. Highways from Kyiv—which is located in the north, near the border with Belarus and Russia—to the western city of Lviv are chock-a-block with cars and buses. Civilian flights are grounded; trains are either overloaded or finding it tough to maintain schedules. People are taking up to 36 hours to cover the 600km distance between Kyiv and Lviv by road.