“Sandra, I gotta tell you, for me and for many people here, journalists, this is absolutely stunning news,” Harrigan said. “People weren’t sure what was going to happen, when, but it is very different for the Ukrainians.”

He continued:

This is a government that from the get-go has tried to play down a talk of a Russian invasion. The officials, the president saying it was not likely, don’t talk about it, don’t stir up fear, Americans, you are going to hurt our economy. When you talk to people out on the street, some people are preparing, some civilians have been training with weapons. Other people have tried to back their bags, fill their gas tanks, get ready to flee.

But overall, the overwhelming sense is, this is not going to happen, not going to war, a full-scale war with our neighbor, Russia. And people are going about their business. This is a city of three million. Jake Sullivan saying within two days there could be bombs, there could be missiles, people are driving normally, obeying the traffic lights, moving around as normal here in Kiev.