Lviv: The Russians are coming

As Russian troops rapidly advanced across Ukraine, residents of the picturesque western city of Lviv began preparing for war. Within days of the invasion, Lviv, located just 50 miles from the Polish border and serving as a refuge for hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Ukrainians, was transformed into a garrison city. Checkpoints encircled the city, a strict curfew was imposed, and self-defence groups formed to patrol the streets, monitor access roads, and search for suspected saboteurs. Residents began producing Molotov cocktails en masse, weaving camouflage nets, building anti-tank “hedgehogs” from scavenged metal, and constructing barricades to help fortify the city. Amid swirling rumours, growing fear, and the daily arrival of the bodies of fallen local soldiers, groups of women attended first-aid courses while reservists in uniform stood ready to take up arms and halt any Russian advance.