How Kiev residents prepare for an invasion

Oleksandr Biletskyi spreads out on the desk what he now considers to be the most necessary. A compass, a pocket knife, tape, carabiner, string. He meticulously arranges the items he has brought with him in his military tote bag. He gently puts a second, third, fourth bag on the table. Kalashnikov, shotgun, pistol. Biletskyi, the war veteran, says: “We have to be prepared for anything.”

At first glance, life in Kiev hasn’t changed in the past few weeks. Not even for the 47-year-old Biletskyi, blue jeans, sweater with a zip, polished leather shoes. He still goes to the shooting range twice a month to keep fit. He’s not afraid. Ukraine has already been at war for eight years and the Russian troop build-up on the border did not just start yesterday. That’s why there’s no panic in the city, he says.