Ukrainian crisis: Civilians train for war as tensions with Russia reach boiling point

Ukraine’s government has released a “survival guide” for war and civilians are taking up arms training as fears of a Russian invasion grow.

The Ukrainian government has issued the ultimate “survival guide” for war including details of accessible bomb shelters in capital Kyiv as Russia formally extends “military drills” on the Ukraine border.

The drills on Ukraine’s northern flank were to end today but the Kremlin and ally Belarus said they would now continue indefinitely.

It comes as overnight British Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted proposed hard-hitting financial sanctions may not be enough to prevent Russian president Vladimir Putin from signing off on an invasion which “could be the biggest war in Europe since the Second World War”.

Residents attend an open training organised for civilians by war veterans and volunteers at one of Kyiv's city beaches. Picture: AFP

“We have to accept at the moment that Vladimir Putin is possibly thinking illogically about this and doesn’t see the disaster ahead,” he said, also referencing the financial collapse Russia could see with US and UK plans to block Russian State-linked companies from trading in dollars and pounds.

The Ukraine government has been appealing for community calm for months, dismissing threats a war was imminent.

But it has issued a survival guide for households with media now publishing guides to bomb shelters notably in capital Kyiv where locals not fleeing their homes already, could go.

Kyiv locals are preparing for war as tensions reach boiling point. Picture: AFP

The 25-page booklet for food stocks and medical kits was first issued last June but now republished along with shelter maps, ironically in both Ukrainian and Russian languages, highlighting how close these nations once were and their interwoven population still is.

It says grab bags should have 72-hours worth of water and pre-cooked food, passports as well as cash, bank cards and document “certifying property ownership”.

The Ukrainian government “survival guide” for war. Picture: Supplied

A local resident inspects his house, damaged after a shelling in Novohnativka village, Donetsk region. Picture: AFP

There is also the usual radio, multi-tool knife, needle and thread, a paper map and a medical kit including “a large piece of tissue that can be used to fix a victim’s limb and antiseptics”. There is a section for children, should they get separated from parents in a melee and also what to do if caught out on the street if bombs start falling.

If fleeing, there are 26 land border checkpoints out of the country, most into Poland.

People evacuated from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic arriving to the railway station in the city of Voronezh. Picture: Handout/ Russian Emergency Situations Ministry/AFP

EU leaders continued rounds of talks including a 105-minute call between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and France’s President Emmanuel Macron.

Both men agreed to work toward a ceasefire in Ukraine’s east between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists before broader de-escalation talks could begin.

The White House maintained a Russian invasion was imminent.

Originally published as Ukrainian crisis: Civilians train for war as tensions with Russia reach boiling point