Rows of concrete panels arranged in labyrinth-like formations. Anti-tank road blocks. Piles of sandbags. Improvised barriers made of random pieces of metal, wood, old tires or anything at hand.
And wherever you look, there are blue and yellow Ukrainian flags.
The city is incredibly quiet. Many people have fled in recent days. Those who remained were taken to bomb shelters, basements and metro stations.
The checkpoints along the city’s entry points are run by ordinary Ukrainians. These are not soldiers. A week ago, many of these men would be at work or enjoying a vacation with friends and family.
Now they are ready to defend the capital of their country.
Alexei Goncharenko guarded one of Kyiv’s checkpoints on Tuesday, armed with a rifle he took last week after responding to calls from Ukrainian authorities to prepare for the country’s defense.
It was terribly cold and Goncharenko worked in shifts with other volunteers. When he is not at the checkpoint, he says he is at the base, helping where he can: “Humanitarian aid, helping people get [to places]arranging transport, sharing information. ”
Goncharenko is not and has never been in the military. He is a member of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament,
“I’m not a professional soldier at all, but I can try and I can do my best and I will do it if Russian forces enter Kyiv,” he told CNN.
Most of the men at the checkpoints are smiling. When a car passes, they greet the passengers, wave and wish them a safe journey wherever they go.
A man wearing glasses, a camouflage hat and woolen gloves with six of his 10 fingertips cut off, flashes a V-sign and waves.
The men here are trying to maintain high morale, even though they know all too well that the enemy they are facing is much better equipped.
Russia has assembled a 40-mile (64-kilometer) military convoy – made up of armored vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and other logistics vehicles – that is approaching the outskirts of Kyiv.
Most – but not all – of the men on the streets of the capital are equipped with rifles. They are located next to the road that connects the center of Kyiv with the suburbs.
The ribbons, made of a piece of yellow ribbon, show that they are part of the Territorial Defense Force, a branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which consists mainly of volunteers. Tens of thousands have joined in recent days.
Some look very, very young, wearing tracksuit bottoms and sneakers. In the cold cold weather, the defenders of the city – along with everyone else in Kyiv – are waiting for everything that is yet to come.