Some Ukrainians panic, others cling to routine as Russia attacks

The missile fragment pierced the ceiling of Mikhail Shcherbakov’s apartment in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. A Russian attack, after weeks of warnings, had hit home.

“I heard noise and woke up. I realized it sounded like artillery,” Shcherbakov said. He jumped from the couch and ran to wake his mother, and something exploded behind him.

The missile left a nearby computer and teacup shrouded with dust, instant artifacts of Europe’s latest crisis.

At dawn on Thursday, Ukrainians’ uneasy efforts at normality were shattered. Smoke rose from cities, even well away from the country’s disputed eastern border.

‘The worst sunrise of my