On the ground in Ukraine as Russia ramps up attacks

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Of course, I scared because I see, uh, people, uh, death. I see ruins, uh, uh, my city. Of course, uh, for me, it's not normal. It's... I think it's one month, so very attack every day. Every day.

That's Yana Horodok describing life in Kyiv after a sharp escalation in Russian attacks. Jet-powered drones have been striking the Ukrainian capital day and night for the past month, and the escalation is actually being felt right across the country. Yesterday, Russia launched a heavy attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, killing at least seven people. Today, they hit transport and logistics centers in Kyiv. Further south, in Odesa, Russian strikes are disrupting commercial shipping, with another vessel hit today and putting increasing strain on Ukraine's economy. The CBC's international correspondent, Briar Stewart, has been traveling across the country speaking with people, and we've reached her just west of Kyiv, making her way back from Odesa. Briar, hello.

Good morning, Matt.

We heard a little bit there from people in Kyiv. Um, how has life changed in that city in the more than four and a half years of this war?

You know, I think it's quite interesting 'cause when you're in Kyiv and you look kind of on a surface level, it's still a very vibrant city. It's busy. You know, this morning we saw people out for a jog. But I do think that image kind of betrays the sense of exhaustion and anxiety that people are experiencing because of these attacks, which really, uh, started intensifying dramatically, um, in August. And the city is being targeted in a way it hasn't before. Around the clock strikes, gas stations being a target, data centers, even, even grocery stores. And in fact, today, they've had to suspend, uh, some of the road and metro services across a bridge over the Dnipro River in Kyiv-

Hmm

... because of a drone strike. I mean, so these things are happening every day. And not only is, you know, are we seeing deaths and injuries every single day, but it's, it is that sense of fear.

That image of, of the city is really interesting because to your point, for much of the war, it's not as though the war wasn't present in, in the city as you, as you understood it, but, but it felt like people were able to kind of live normal-ish lives, to your point. Going out jogging. There were restaurants that were open. There were bars that were open. You've been reporting from that city throughout it. So does it feel different now than the last few times that you were there?

Yeah, I would say it absolutely feels different. Now, to be clear, I wasn't in Kyiv at the start of the war. I was, uh, CBC's Russia correspondent then.

Mm-hmm.

But I've been here, you know, more than I'd say half a dozen times