Larysa was standing on broken glass outside her Kyiv apartment building trying to convince two council workers to come to her flat to fix the shattered windows.

She had just hours earlier been shaken to her core by an explosion at the parking garage of a residential complex, three floors below.

We were invited in by her, as she was terrified of the blast.

Larysa was obviously in shock and very teary.

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We walked towards her block and I noticed that floor after floor of the building had been smashed windows.

The workmen arrived inside and began to clear the area while we chatted.

She said, “There was an explosion and I jumped immediately.”

“I looked out and saw people running. I ran through my apartment, checked all my windows, and then saw the ambulance and fire engines arrive about 15 minutes later.”

I kept hearing her worry about her grandchildren so I asked her if it was possible for her to share with another grandmother in the UK how it is to live through war.

“Oh, don’t ask, I most worry about my grandchildren and children, one of my boys is the oldest, on the frontline. I don’t worry about me, I have thick skin so I am fine. But my children …”

“Let them be cursed!” ‘

Larysa became increasingly upset while we talked – she was particularly angry with Russia, its people and Vladimir Putin.

“May they be cursed!” I hope they hear me, even my friends there all my life… Let them be cursed!

She repeated, “I don’t worry about me, I’m old, but my children and grandchildren are important to me.”

“I want to see an end to all this as soon as possible. I want Putin to go

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Shrapnel leaves children’s playground scarred

Below, police were searching for fragments from a missile that struck this Kyiv neighbourhood, in Svyatoshyns’kyi district. They tried to find out what exactly it was.

The Russians used a wide range of weapons to destroy the country’s morning peace.

As the missile crashed into ground, cars caught on fire and apartment windows were broken in the blast.

We also saw shrapnel marks in the playground for children, which was not surprising considering we were looking at slides and swings.

A few men took a look at their vehicles and tried to figure out what they could do.

One of them said, “As you can see, we just try and fix the problem and keep living and hoping for the best… all wars in history come an end, so it is my hope that peace will soon come.”

Sirens and strikes are part of daily life in Kyiv

The council began to deliver large rolls of plastic sheeting to people in order for them to fix their windows as soon as possible.

Although it is quite mild in Ukraine right now, temperatures can drop in just a few hours.

This was a huge Russian attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. One of the targets was a Kyiv power station, which was completely destroyed by the Russians.

The fire had been put out by the time we reached it. However, there were power cuts due to the attack.

We heard the sirens of air raids throughout the day in the capital. After three weeks of relative peace, we saw some residents return to the metro to wait for the all-clear.

It was surprising to me that people still run for shelter even after all these years, when sirens ring.

It’s part and parcel of our daily life.