Vadim was walking his pug dog when we met yesterday morning. The sky was blue, the sun shone and the park in front of Kiev's main drama theatre was filled with parents pushing prams past a few elderly folk sitting on benches.
The scene, with its feeling of springtime, could scarcely have been more peaceful. Yet, like countless others of his fellow citizens, the 21-year-old engineering student is steeling himself for war.
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WNU Editor: This is the feedback that I am getting from my family and friends in Ukraine (specifically Kiev, Kharkiv, Odessa, and Lviv).
Everyone is not in a talkative mood. But I have the gift of making people talk, and when they do open up I am receiving this.
A sense of shock on what is happening. A lot of resignation that this is all inevitable. Frustration, anger, regrets, and fear. A lot of fear. And a lot of thanks when I tell them my home is open for them and financial help if necessary.
And as to what are my own personal emotions.
Resignation. Regrets that I cannot do more. And a lot of fear that if war does break out, it may quickly spread beyond the boundaries of Ukraine and into a global conflict that will engulf us all.