Until a week ago, Oleg from Kyiv would get up every morning and go to work as a lawyer. Then the war broke out. Now Oleg is standing guard at a makeshift roadblock to the capital as part of a civilian paramilitary effort to stop the Russian invasion.
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"We're trying to catch cars and ambulances disguised to be used for terrorist attacks," Oleg, 43, tells Israel Hayom.
"We're teaching people to shoot and use explosives so they will be able to blow up Russian tanks and vehicles," he says.
Oleg directs our attention to a phenomenon that has been reported repeatedly online and in the local media: that the Russians appear unprepared for war.
"They don't have enough petrol, they are about to lose their army. They are losing a lot, and we have a professional army. I really believe we'll retake the territory," he says.
The lawyer-turned-guerrilla fighter shared that on Saturday, his group identified two bunches of Russians in possession of fake Ukrainian ID cards, a tactic commonly employed by Russian forces since the start of the invasion last week.
"Their job is to identify targets for aircraft and missiles. We spotted them because one of them had a Russian prison tattoo."
Oleg is asking for help from the international community. "We need defense and ammunition. We don't have helmets," he says. He also appeals to Israelis: "We have an insane neighbor like you do, who doesn't believe in our right to exist."
Irina, who moved to Kyiv from Odessa seven years ago, worked as an events coordinator until not too long ago. She managed a small team until the Russians started firing missiles last Thursday.
"My father called me at 7 in the morning and begged me to drive to Lviv, but I didn't want to. I thought it would be fine," she says, weeping, while talking to Israel Hayom on the Polish border after managing to flee the country.
"I took my cat and after a two-day journey, without sleeping, I got to Lviv. The city isn't far, about 500 km [310 miles], but because of traffic jams I was on the road for 35 hours. Today I slept for eight hours for the first time because I was exhausted. Yesterday, I slept two hours, and an hour [the day] before that," she says.
"I only have a credit card with me, that's it. My life has been ruined. My staff has been left behind in Kyiv. They organized amazing events, but now they're in a shelter and are hearing bombs every hour," Irina continues.
Irina has Russian friends, but she feels deeply disappointed by them. "They think they're saving us from communism, but we haven't had communism here in years."
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