‘Terrible and fantastical’: fear and farewells on the road out of Ukraine

Within minutes of the first explosions, Ukraine's great exodus began. Some had been planning for a Russian invasion for months. They had carefully filled the car with petrol, bought food supplies and packed a getaway bag, just in case. And, in many cases, a carrier for much-loved family pets.

Others had done nothing whatsoever. Until Russia's blitzkrieg invasion began early on Thursday, many people in Kyiv believed the prospect fanciful. And yet the nightmare was real enough: air raid sirens, Russian helicopters flying low against a grey sky in attack formation, the roar of enemy warplanes.

By Friday, as Russian forces approached Kyiv from the north-west, Ukraine responded in two ways. One was by fighting. Its protagonists were soldiers, military veterans, volunteers. Members of the Ukrainian forces tried to hold back a powerful enemy advancing on multiple fronts: from the east and Russia; the south and Crimea; the north and Belarus.

The other, bigger group were civilians fleeing the surging conflict - a great, wheeled caravan that filled the road west out of the city, and continued for dozens of miles. For hours this procession of cars scarcely moved. Drivers emerged to stretch their legs. It was unprecedented: Ukraine's biggest ever jam.

Those without vehicles had to find other options. There were long queues at Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi railway station. Some trains were cancelled but a few, remarkably, were running, albeit delayed by five or six hours. Military transport took priority, railway staff explained. Buying a ticket was almost impossible in a panicked city of 3 million people.

Some set off on foot, walking along the verge of the E40 road in the early hours of Friday morning, pulling carry-on cases. One departed on a mountain bike. On the day of invasion the Ukrainian government introduced a 10pm-7am curfew. Trains on the Soviet-built Kyiv metro stopped promptly. The underground stations remained open all night, now serving as bomb shelters.

"We left at 5.30am when we heard the first explosions," Vera Ivanovna said, wiping away tears. "I didn't bring any clothes. I took my mother, nine-year-old daughter and sister." Ivanovna said she had been driving for 28 hours, after setting off from her home in Sumy, in north-eastern Ukraine, close to the city of Kharkiv and the Russian border.