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'I don't want to die': Ukrainians fear as invasion closes in

Ukraine Invasion Shelter Photo Gallery
Posted at 11:15 AM, Feb 25, 2022
and last updated 2022-02-25 13:47:19-05

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian civilians are fleeing after finding their lives at risk on the second day of Russia's invasion.

Yurii Zhyhanov woke to his mother's screaming and found himself covered in dust.

Shelling had struck their residential building on the outskirts of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

"What are you doing? What is this?" Zhyhanov said, addressing Russia and gesturing to the damaged building behind him.

His weariness and shock reflected that of his country as people climbed out of bomb shelters, basements, and subways on Friday to face another day of upheaval.

Those who didn't wake to explosions were roused by another day of air raid sirens or the news that Russian troops were advancing toward the capital.

Russian military claims it's not targeting cities, saying that “there is no threat to the civilian population,” CNN and PBS reported.

But according to the Associated Press, fragments of a downed aircraft were found in a residential area.

A young girl in Mariupol told the AP that she didn't want to die and wished for the attack "to end as soon as possible.”

The urge to leave the country at an all-time high, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Friday that more than 50,000 refugees had fled Ukraine, with most of them going to Poland and Moldova.

The Associated Press reported that at a train station in Poland hundreds of Ukrainians sought shelter.