When the air raid sirens rang out across Lviv early Thursday morning, it came as a shock.
The city in the far-West of Ukraine, just 75 kilometres from the Polish border, had been considered by many Ukrainians to be a safe haven during an invasion.
"I'll just get in my car and head to Lviv" was a comment we heard often in Kyiv.
Hundreds of thousands of people had the same thought, judging by the congested roads out of the Ukrainian capital.
Lviv has not been targeted by Russian forces so far, but residents and visitors have been told to prepare emergency plans. The cobbled streets of this popular tourist destination are noticeably quieter today than yesterday.
'If I was younger, I would take a machine gun and go to the front line'
While many businesses are closed, supermarkets were packed. People were buying bottles of water and non-perishable foods. Essentials when there's a risk of utilities being targeted.
We met Ludmilla, whose two sons are on the frontline in the East.
She is one of the many Kyiv residents who travelled here a few days ago, anticipating what was to come. Soon, her three grandchildren will join her.
"I am holding on, I am a strong woman," she told SBS News.
"If I was younger, I would take a machine gun and go to the front line. I am willing to give my life, I have lived a full life. I'm ready to protect my Ukraine."
Ludmilla, who travelled from Kyiv to Lviv. Source: SBS News
"The situation is awful, inhuman. I had friends and business relationships with many Russians, but I have ended them. Russians, they’re silent on these matters. Blind, deaf and mute."
Across Lviv, there are lengthy queues outside banks and automatic teller machines.
While card payment systems are still working here, many businesses have begun to ask for cash payments. Hard currency is King when war breaks out.
Oxana is a psychologist who worked with refugees from the 2014 conflict. Source: SBS News
A psychologist who worked with refugees from the 2014 conflict, she expects she will soon be assisting a new wave of arrivals from Kyiv and the East.
Despite being so close to Poland, she will not abandon Ukraine.
"We are not going to leave Lviv, my parents are here. Even if they were young and healthy they wouldn't be leaving anyway," she said.
There are also lines in pharmacies in Lviv Source: SBS News
Oxana plans to keep seeing patients. Her skills will be needed in the weeks and months to come.
"I'm not panicking because panic is not productive. You just use the insecurity and fear to fuel your work and do the job."
