“Under war bells”, Kiev maintains normal appearance

His concern was whether he would buy his girlfriend the most expensive gold necklace for Valentine's Day.

“I found a good”, he said laughing while standing outside the Love You jewelry store in a central Kiev mall.

This is much more important. Besides, there will be no war. At least we hope not”, he said.

War drums are falling stronger in Ukraine.

With more than 100,000 troops deployed in the north, east and the occupied crime in the south, along with new sophisticated weapons and equipment for lower visibility such as the vehicles for digging holes, an increasing number of analysts say it is hard to conclude that the Russian army is ready to do anything but invade its western neighbour for the second time in eight years.

Russia's Defence Ministry said some 32 warships had been launched into the waters of the northern Black Sea. The fleet included the amphibous exhumation vehicle that could be used for placing infantry and armoured units on Ukraine's coastline.

Although Ukraine would wage a bold war, a new Russian invasion would be a disaster for Kiev, according to Western intelligence estimates.

Weeks of growing warnings, mainly by American officials, reached new levels on February 11th, as White House officials said an invasion could come in the next five days.

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone on February 12th in an attempt to prevent a new war.

According to the White House, Beden warned Putin that the invasion of Ukraine would result in a high-speed and heavy “cost” for Russia and would cause widespread human subx2>

An American administration official later said the call did not produce “no substantial change in the” dynamics.

“The unclear questions whether Russia is interested in pursuing its goals diplomatically instead of using force”, the official said.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, described the call as “balanced”, but also did not signal any major thinking changes.

Amid gloomy proposals, Western countries continued to withdraw and shift their diplomatic staff. A column of US Embassy vehicles was seen heading west from Kiev. The State Department has said some of their staff will be moved to Lviv, a large town in western Ukraine.

Canada, which has a large population of Ukrainian immigrants, also said it was moving its Embassy from Kiev to Lviv.

Ukraine's president, Voldymyr Zelenskiy, again tried to counter the most terrible warnings from the United States, which have provoked complaints from him and his key advisers in recent weeks.

The best friend of our enemies is panic in our country. And all this information is just causing panic and cannot help us”, Zelenskiy told reporters on February 12th.

I cannot agree or disagree with what hasn't happened yet. So far, there is no full war in Ukraine”, he said.

Not with flowers.

The head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valeriy Zaluzhniy, also issued a challenging statement.

We have strengthened Kiev's defence. We've been through the fight with proper preparation. Therefore, we are ready to meet our enemies, and not with flowers, but with [arms and rockets]”, Zaluzhniy said.

In interviews with citizens around the center of Kiev on an extremely warm weekend in February, the mood was a mixture of challenges and concerns and, in some cases, indifference.

Some, like Andriy, were joking about Valentine's Day. Others cited a controversial result involving the competition to represent Ukraine at Eurovision 2022 ] an event that attracts the attention of a large part of Ukrainian society.

But for others, like Lena, a 46-year-old financial director at a large company in Kiev, which was walking near the famous Kiev mosque bridge, it was hard to be optimistic.

The situation is not good. What do you think we should do? Yeah, I'm worried”, she said.

Lena, who said she lives with her mother and four cats, has made some preparations in case of shortages that may occur because of the war. She bought extra food, pulled extra money from her bank and bought extra water.

“Although I already drank the entire water”, she said laughing.

We have to stay calm. Panic will not help anyone. What should we do? Let's start crying?

Volodymyr Ishchenko, who was walking with his wife, Svitlana, and pushing the cart with their minor son, said they had no plans to leave Kiev even in the event of a full invasion, which he said was unlikely to happen.

However, Svitlana said it prompted packing some supplies, such as additional diapers and formulas, if they had to travel unexpectedly to western Ukraine, where they could stay with relatives.

This won't happen. Among my friends, relatives, no one believes”, said Ischenko, a 41-year-old engineer.

In the square outside St. Michael's cathedral, a newly married couple posed for wedding photos before leaving with a limo waiting for them.

Nikita, a 19-year-old engineering student from the eastern town of Crematorsk who was visiting his girlfriend in Kiev, said that at home in Donbas é not far from the front line in the nearly eight-year conflict between government troops and Russian-backed forces no one was really paying attention to the threat of an escalating war.

People are living right there. They don't have time for war. There are more urgent things to think”, he said.

“People are more concerned about their work, money, heating their homes”, Nikita added.

“We must fight our fight”

Several thousand people marched through the center of Kiev to oppose any possible agreement that would undermine Ukrainian sovereignty.

After singing the national anthem, cheering “Glory to Ukraine” and carrying banners saying “Ukrainians will resist” and “The fighters must die”, protesters left for Independence Square, or Maidan.

This central square was where in 2013 and in 2014 thousands of demonstrators camped for months and were the core of the pro-European protest movement, against corruption that strengthened the president, Victor Yanukovych, abandoned plans for closer trade ties with the European Union and instead returned from Russia.

Violence erupted in Maidan in February 2014, and Yanukovych left the country. Soon after, Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula and waged war in eastern Ukraine.

Standing in Maidan, Oleksandr Antonovots, a 63-year-old retired teacher who now trains horses for races, held a Ukrainian flag with autographs he said was presented to him in gratitude for the support he gave to demonstrators who had camped in 2013-2014.

He said he is prepared to fight, join a rebellion or resistance if he is coming.

He said he was grateful for the weapons the United States was offering -- hundreds of millions of dollars in arms, including antitank missiles known as Yavelins.

“We must fight our war. Thank you for Yavelins, but it's our fight. If the war comes to Kiev, of course, some people will leave. But many of us will stay to fight”, he said.

I lived in 2014, remember what happened then, artillery shells fell everywhere. All were terrified”, he said, referring to the two-month battle in which government forces recovered the city from Russian-backed fighters at the beginning of the Donbas conflict that killed more than 13,000 people.

I don't see it now. I don't think there's going to be a new fight”, he said.

“Where would I go?”, he said when asked what he would do if Russia invaded Kiev.

What I'm worried about is kids, my grandchildren. They're innocent. And they're stuck in this mess”, he said.

Walking with his dog, Kody, Dima, a programmer from the eastern town of Kharkhiwi, who wrote the code for a game developer in Kiev's developing IT sector, said his friends in the army were convinced they could wage a good fight in occupied Russia.

He said his girlfriend's worried and wants to leave if the war breaks out, but he doesn't plan it.

Russia thinks Ukraine is its country. That's the problem”, Dima said.

And what we can agree on is this: bullets don't care if you're Ukrainian or Russian. If there is a new war, there will be many deaths. But, we will fight”, he added.

“How can you have a war like this in the 21st century?”, said Caterina, a 27-year-old mother walking with her 4-year-old son, Nica, on their way to see relatives in another part of Kiev.

Should we go? Let's leave Kiev? Where would we go? This is our home. We have no plans to evacuate”, she said.

Although the government in Kiev has asked people not to panic as Russian troops flock to the Ukrainian border, the country's currency, hryvnya, has fallen to the lowest level in four years. Picture from the archive.

Walking with his wife through Lipky, a luxurious neighborhood of Kiev that was historically home to government officials, businessmen and young people, Mykola, a retired engineer, said the mood in the city was disturbing but not alarming.

He said they were not planning to leave Kiev in case of invasion: “and why would we do that? This is our house?

He said it was difficult to know what to think, noting the statements of American officials who have said they do not know whether Putin has decided to attack yet.

But if there is war, he said, “would naturally have resistance. Ukraine will fight”.

Thanks for the guns, Yavelins. But they will not make the crucial difference for us. This will be our fight”, he said.