It’s deja vu every night. You go to bed at a reasonable hour and, because you’re exhausted, fall asleep in no time. The next thing you know a huge wall of sound is wailing through the window, followed by another just behind it, and a third just behind that.
Blinking awake in the pitch-black night, you’ve suddenly got three rhyming air-raid sirens – so loud they seem to be coming from everywhere at once – letting you know a Russian assault is on the way. You’ve got 10-15 minutes before the projectiles arrive, whether it’s drones or missiles.
This is pre-dawn life in the Ukrainian capital today. In recent weeks, Ukraine’s air defences have been able to neutralise most of the projectiles, but still you’ve got a decision to make.
You might be so tired you can’t be bothered, and just roll over, pull the pillow over your head and endeavour to return to dreamland. It’s a bold move likely to end in failure. Trust me, you’ll spend the next hour silently cursing decision-makers for starting this war and the folks who invented kamikaze drones and wondering whether your time has come.
If you’re an amateur filmmaker with a skyline view, you might grab your phone and head to the window or terrace to record the show. Not exactly the safest option, but who said viral fame would be easy? Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko last week, in fact, urged residents against this after a woman in the city’s Holosiivskyi district was struck and killed on her balcony.
The most common response is to move away from the windows and put several walls between you and the potential arriving fire. Some folks head to the bathroom and lay down in the tub. If the blasts seem relatively close, I’ll probably end up in the stairwell, hope-scrolling on my phone to find out what exactly is incoming and where.
There’s a sense that we’re all in this together, and everybody’s willing to pitch in
But I have only myself to protect. Those with children tend to take greater precautions, especially when the booms get too close for comfort. During the first major round of Russian assaults on Kyiv last fall, many frightened locals, including yours truly, regularly hurried into metro stations and basements to take shelter when the air-raid sirens rang out.
However, once we knew the attacks were focused on degrading infrastructure, most people took to ignoring them and going about their business. All that has changed over the past fortnight as the Kremlin has launched a seemingly endless barrage. A month ago, I detailed how the heavy fighting seemed set to return, and that’s since been borne out.
Over a 36-hour period early last week, Russia launched nearly 90 projectiles at Kyiv, including Iskander ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and Shahed drones. Friends who have stayed in the capital throughout the war say they are finally truly fearful of their safety and have thought about leaving, or at least taking regular shelter.
So it was last Thursday for Yaroslav Riabchuk and his wife and daughter, who hurried outside in the pre-dawn hours to shelter in the basement of a nearby clinic. Yet, probably because so few people have used the shelters in recent months, the clinic was locked.
The Riabchuks and others banged on the doors, pleading to be let in, as Russian missiles streaked across the sky above. Riabchuk rushed around the building to find another entrance, then felt a huge blast. Ukraine’s defences had intercepted a Russian missile overhead, raining glass and debris on those below.
“It was chaos. My daughter was screaming. Everyone was screaming,” Riabchuk later said. His wife had been hit. “I tried to help her … but it was too much blood.”
Three people were killed in that assault, which arrived just a couple of days after nearly a dozen missiles had struck Kyiv in the middle of a clear, sunny day. That attack was all the more shocking because the Ukrainian capital has felt like another universe while the sun is up.
Kyivans have seemed to revel in these early summer days, with an assault-fuelled unity somehow making the city feel more vibrant. Maybe it’s the greater the threat, the more dear something becomes. I’m reminded of what a journalist friend wrote years ago about living in a city facing impending catastrophe. She described “a mood of dread, but also of astonishing vitality – economic, creative, artistic”.
That’s Kyiv today. The International Monetary Fund last week boosted its estimate for Ukraine’s economy, saying that Ukrainian businesses have been incredibly resilient and that GDP could grow as much as 3 per cent this year.
People smile at each other on the street and in the park. On the weekend, I visited a crowded beach where young men and women played volleyball, swam, sunbathed, chatted and bounced to techno. “You’ve got to live while you can,” a Ukrainian friend said as we elbowed through the crowd on the Klitschko Glass Bridge on the weekend. Ukrainian artists are producing popular songs, even whole albums, about staying strong and resisting in occupied territories.
There’s a sense that we’re all in this together, and everybody’s willing to pitch in. One Ukrainian soldier recently laid out on Instagram instructions for surviving Russia’s overnight assaults. The solution involved naps, hugs, exercise, relaxation, and quality time with loved ones – a good recipe for a joyful life even without the war.
But then, always, there are the nights – a darker vision of Bill Murray’s situation in Groundhog Day: rather than going to sleep and waking up in the previous day, you go to sleep and wake up in a nightmare. And what, I keep wondering, is the Russian objective?
Analysts argue that Moscow aims to erode Ukraine’s air defences in advance of its long-expected counter-offensive. A reasonable goal, but Russia is also eroding its own supply of missiles and drones, so any advantage gained would be minimal at best. It's also given Ukraine the chance to improve: the past few nights in Kyiv we’ve heard the air-raid sirens but no booms because the country’s air defences intercepted all the incoming projectiles beyond the city’s fringe.
Having drinks with a Ukrainian friend the other night, she pointed out that perhaps Russia’s one advantage right now is its unpredictability. “We really don’t know what they’ll do next, and we rarely know why they do things,” she said.
And that might be as good an explanation as any. The simple terror of the unknown: monsters lurking in the darkness and things that go bump in the night. Maybe Russia aims to erode Ukraine’s defences. Maybe it hopes to break its will. Maybe there’s no rhyme or reason behind it – which could be the scariest scenario of all.
'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'
Rating: 3/5
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Mads Mikkelson, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Jude Law
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Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
Christopher Robin
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Haley Atwell, Jim Cummings, Peter Capaldi
Three stars
What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
More from Armen Sarkissian
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
