Dhaka: Wednesday, February 23. The night was spent in anxiety. I still woke up last night. Suddenly a message from a colleague floated on the screen. "Vladimir Putin has announced an attack on Ukraine," he wrote. The explosion started before his message was over. I could hear the loud sound of explosion very close to the house.
News of the blasts in Kiev and surrounding cities was also coming to our (journalist's) WhatsApp group. Everyone was reporting an explosion near their home.
No one was left to understand that Kiev was really under attack. Attacks were being carried out from three directions, not just in the eastern part of Ukraine. The sound of explosions stopped at various places in the capital Kiev. This is a big blow for Ukrainians.
At that time it was clear that there was no safe place in Ukraine. Ukraine is now on the brink of death after being attacked by Russian troops. But the biggest panic for the general public was the lack of electricity in the city and the complete shutdown of internet services. The inhabitants of Kiev were then virtually isolated from one another.
But the bridges over the Daniper River were at the center of the panic. Russian troops could be the first to drop bombs there. Doing so will completely separate the western part from the eastern part of the city.
The explosion continued for 30 minutes. We were staying in a safe place in the house. I was making clothes for my 10 year old son thinking. By then it was dawn. We were eating something for breakfast.
I sat as far away from the window as possible. A candle was burning in the corner of the room. But my son was terrified. At one point the boy started vomiting.
Supermarket is located very close to home. There was a lot of noise. I peeked and saw a huge row in front of the market. People rush to enter the ATM booth. Most of the petrol stations are empty.
Many have already closed petrol stations in panic because there is a high risk of Russian military airstrikes. It is clear from the scene that the whole country is facing a terrible attack.
Traffic jams on all city streets. Red signal on main roads leading in and out of town. Long queues of cars, moving slowly, which is completely unknown in Kiev. Train movement is normal. But the responsibility to get on the train!
Seats in the crowd are far away, there is no way to stand. Meanwhile, the ban on airspace has been imposed. All aircraft are closed due to martial law imposed by President Zelensky.
Before the Russian invasion, it was said that Ukraine's military installations could be the main target of Russian troops. However, the Russian military has not only targeted military installations. Numerous residential buildings in various cities in Ukraine have been attacked. We were getting innumerable pictures of the building damaged in the attack. It has also spread through social media.
All parts of Ukraine were affected by the Russian bombing. Even the city of Lviv which borders Poland, is under attack. In the morning the siren went off and I heard that a journalist had to stay in a safe place to escape the bombing.
A colleague has already fled Kiev to save his and his family's lives from Russian aggression. His idea was that the countryside could be safer than the city. But the opposite happened. It was unknown at this time what he would do after leaving the post.
But when a country is attacked from the north, east and south, there is no real safe place. There is no point in saying that Ukraine is safe now. The whole of Ukraine is now hell-bent on being attacked by Russian troops.
Author: Martha Shokalo, BBC Ukraine Editor.