'Mum, I'm scared': Kyiv mother describes how she comforted her children during Russian strikes John Sparks, our international correspondent, has been speaking to a mother in Kyiv after last night's strikes by Russia. Here, he shares her account of this morning, and what it's like for Ukrainians living under fear of attack. Could you find the words to calm your child in the middle of a Russian attack? This was something Kyiv-resident Khrystyna Kotsira decided to write about this morning, following the overnight bombardment on the Ukrainian capital. She describes how her children reacted as the bombing began and their uncertain breakfast routine this morning. Kotsira is the publishing editor at the hromadske news website. Her husband is a journalist, who now serves in the Ukrainian military. Here is what she wrote about this morning in Kyiv: They were lying in the corridor. Our frightened, little children. "Mum, I’m scared… Mum? Are you sure the rockets won’t hit our house?," they ask. We hold their little hands, and I try to hold myself together. "Everything will be fine, son. Everything will be fine, daughter. Sleep," I tell them. But the rockets do hit someone's house. The lucky ones get ready for school, sleepless, in the morning. I make porridge and tea. "Mom, I need two spoons of sugar, two!" I put in two because life is already so bitter. "I put a sandwich there for you, just the way you like it. Don’t forget to eat it at break time," I say. "With sausage and white bread?" "Yes, with sausage and white bread," I reply. The bell rings for their class. At 9 o'clock, the children will stop for a minute of silence and the anthem. At the school break, they will eat a sandwich or an apple. Life will go on for some. For others, this is an imitation of life. For some, this morning was the last.