People walking along the coast in Odesa squint into the winter sun trying to catch a glimpse of the threat that lurks in the distance.
Then an air raid siren sounds, followed by a quick succession of church bells. Then we hear a recorded message."The air alert is on, keep yourself safe. Find shelter," it warns on a loop.Odesa is Ukraine's third-largest city and is strategically important to Vladimir PutinValerian and his wife Valeriya usher their two children, nine-year-old Vadim and Vladislava, seven, into a nearby subway.
"We didn't want to leave our home," she says."We just bought a flat, repaired it, also bought new furniture. But when the windows in the nearby flats were shattered because of the explosion, you are scared. The most precious thing is life, especially the lives of our children."Half an hour later we're given the all clear and we climb the steps back into the sunshine.
"My husband works in a security company and he has two-day shifts," she says."So I am always afraid that when war starts he won't be at home."Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player"We covered the windows with cardboard to protect us from glass," she says."The first two days of war we slept at another apartment.
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