Kyiv Residents Defiant Even As Some Flee After Russian Invasion

A mood of defiance gripped Kyiv on Thursday after Russia invaded Ukraine even though the city echoed at times to the sound of gunfire, sirens and explosions and many people tried to leave the capital in search of safety.

Signs of nervousness grew as planes flew overhead and Ukrainian officials reported that an airport near the capital had been attacked.

Some residents chose to stay, and stood in long lines outside banks and shops hoping to draw money and stock up on supplies. But others packed bags and suitcases and looked for a way out of the city - by bus, car or plane.

Traffic came to a standstill on the four-lane main road to the western city of Lviv, far from the areas most likely to be attacked after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion. Cars stretched back for dozens of kilometres.

"I'm going away because a war has started, Putin attacked us," said Oxana, stuck in the traffic jam with her three-year-old daughter on the back seat. "We're afraid of bombardments."

She said her immediate aim was to get out of Kyiv, a city of about 3 million. Then she would decide where to go.

Another driver, who identified himself only as Aleksander from Lviv, said he would return to Kyiv once he had got his children out.

"The mood is patriotic," he said. "We will fight this off. Ukraine will win, no matter what."

'REAL MEN' AND 'PATRIOTS'

Another driver stuck in traffic called "on real men, on patriots" to mobilise.

"I believe we need to get our act together and give a stern reply to the Russian aggression," he said, without giving his name. "Please forgive me for saying this but I think we must fight all those who invade our country so strongly. I would hang every single one of them from bridges."

Even after weeks of warnings by Ukrainian and Western politicians that a Russian attack was imminent, some people were caught off guard.

"I didn't expect this. Until this morning I believed nothing would happen," said Nikita, a 34-year-old marketing specialist, as he waited in a long line at a supermarket with bottles of water piled high in his shopping cart. "I packed, bought food and will stay at home with my family."

Some who wanted to leave feared chaos or the military situation would prevent them leaving.

A traveller at the main airport who gave her name only as Gulnara said her flight to Baku had been cancelled.

"No one is telling us what happened, what will happen to our flight, what should we do, where to go. We have no place to go to. No one is responding to us," she said.

(Writing by Timothy Heritage; Editing by Janet Lawrence)