'You don't have time to escape the rockets ...we just sit, waiting'

UKRAINIANS who have endured Russia's brutal attacks and seen neighbourhoods and friends wiped out are understandably suspicious of the proposed ceasefire.

- By Zak Garner-Purkis in Ukraine

Dictator Vladimir Putin has declared a 72-hour pause to mark Russia's Victory Day in the Second World War.

Kyiv has responded by offering a month-long stop to the fighting, to negotiate a long-term settlement.

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday proposed direct talks with Ukraine without preconditions, adding that Moscow viewed Kyiv's call for a 30-day truce as a condition.

But amid the devastation wrought by the Kremlin's onslaught, trust in Russia's word has evaporated amongst the heat and dust of the bombs.

Kyiv's shell-shocked residents hunker down in their homes during the raids, the walls around them shaking as they wait helplessly, praying the next strike won't be a direct hit.

Brutal

Yuliya Antonyuk wiped tears from her eyes as she laid a small bundle of roses at a memorial for the nine civilians who were killed in a ballistic missile strike on the residential district of Svyatoshno on Thursday. The attack struck just yards from her home and she feels vulnerable.