The day begins in Kiev with the wailing of sirens.
In the center of the Ukrainian capital, the war that started early in the morning is not yet visible.
Loudspeaker announcements are heard in which the word "bomb shelter" can be heard.
Somewhere in the city there were explosions, they say.
There are fewer pedestrians and cars on the streets than usual, and small queues form in front of ATMs.
In the next few hours, the war becomes more and more real - also in Kiev, where the air raid alarm goes off in the afternoon and people are asked to go to shelters.
Ukrainian Internet media spread information about where to find them.
The Kiev Metro is also becoming a place of refuge.
Gerhard Gnauck
Political correspondent for Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania based in Warsaw.
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Reinhard Veser
Editor in Politics.
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From all regions of Ukraine, the news overturned in the course of the day.
The often contradictory and unclear reports on the immediate course of the war alternate with statements by Ukrainian politicians.
They report on the international support for Ukraine, call on the population to calm down, invoke their spirit of resistance, and try to give the impression that the Ukrainian state is functioning.
The Mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, assures the residents of the capital that the entire vital infrastructure is working - electricity, water, local transport - and that the capital's administration is working.
The education minister says schools are moving to distance learning.
Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov stresses that the enemy failed to
to break the backbone of the armed forces.
He calls for "full mobilization": "Anyone who is willing and able to hold a weapon can join the territorial defense of the armed forces," he says.
These volunteer units have been rebuilt in recent months in order to relieve combat-experienced units of tasks in the rear.
"Let's hold each other!
Death to the Russian occupiers!
Glory to Ukraine!” Reznikov concludes his appeal.
The politicians' comments follow the line set by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he addressed the Ukrainians in a video message in the early morning immediately after Vladimir Putin declared war.
Tieless and unshaven, he spoke into a camera that appeared to be on a table in front of him.
He said that Russia had started hitting military infrastructure and Ukrainian border guards, and explosions could be heard in cities: "We are introducing a state of war on the entire territory of our country." He spoke to US President Joe Biden , who promised to organize international support.
Citizens should remain calm.
All security forces worked.
"I, the Security Council,
the cabinet will be in constant touch with you.” The speech, which lasted only a minute, ended with the words: “Don't panic.
We are strong, we are ready for anything, we will win.
Glory to Ukraine!”