Feb. 25 (AP): Ukrainians’ uneasy efforts at normality were shattered on Thursday. A Russian attack, after weeks of warnings, had hit home.

Smoke rose from cities, even well away from the country’s east, where conflict has simmered for years. A missile fragment pierced the ceiling of an apartment.

For many, panic set in, and cars flocked to fuel stations or fled from the grey and drizzly capital, Kyiv. People with luggage took shelter in the subway, unsure of where to go.

A woman holds her baby as she gets on a bus leaving Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A Ukrainian policeman walks on a platform backdropped by people waiting for a Kyiv bound train in Kostiantynivka, the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A couple kisses goodbye before the woman boards a bus out of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A woman reacts as she waits for a train trying to leave Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

People walk in a subway to get a train as they leave the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A woman carries a child while walking on a platform to board a Kiev bound train in Kostiantynivka, the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Traffic jams are seen as people leave the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

People try to get onto buses to leave Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

People try to get into a bus as they leave Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A woman with her daughter waits for a train as they try to leave at the Kyiv train station, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Ukrainian soldiers stand guard as people try to leave at the Kyiv train station, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Police officers inspect an area after an apparent Russian strike in Kyiv Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Local residents wait to buy water at a store during a water outage in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

People drag their suitcases as they arrive at a bus station to leave Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A woman with her daughter waits for a train as they try to leave Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

People hug while waiting for a Kyiv bound train in Kostiantynivka, the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

People try to get into a bus as they leave Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A woman holds her baby inside a bus as they leave Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)