‘We are weary but morale is high — Putin did not expect us to be so tough'

KYIV’S weary but remarkably resilient residents emerged for the first time in 48 hours from their homes and bomb shelters to which they had been confined by Russia’s continuing bombing of the Ukrainian capital.

- Bohdan Nahaylo

“It’s great to see the sunlight again,” says one of my journalists, Iryna, after leaving an over-packed bomb shelter in the basement of her building. “Let’s hope our boys will hold out and knock the stuffing out of those bastards.”

The motley Ukrainian defence forces composed of regular army fighters, mobilised veterans and raw, young conscripts, have put up stiff resistance.