'I think about shrapnel at every window I pass'

In his latest dispatch from Kyiv, Daily Express reporter ZAK GARNER-PURKIS tells of his terror on hearing the air raid siren sound for the first time.

- 

"OVERCONFIDENCE is your weakness," a calm male voice tells me between wailing sirens, “seek shelter”.

It’s 3am in Kyiv’s old town and I’m being warned an air strike is incom-ing. The voice is from the hotel’s intercom advising me to go to the shelter in the basement.

The moment I open my eyes, it feels like I am standing. My heart beats through my ears as I pull on some clothes.

Having never been in a country under attack, it all feels surreal, but it is not to be taken lightly.

Before I travelled to Ukraine, oth-ers who had made the trip told me the edgy feeling and sense of urgency fade, which probably explains why the voice on the intercom is warning against overconfidence.

A close family member who lived in an earthquake zone said I should have a bag with valuables by the door.