THE weather in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, was very fine on Thursday, February 22, 2024. At Mykhailivska Square, many people were seen passing by, and cars were parked on each side. With no sirens sounding as a sign of incoming missile attacks from Russia, this city with a population of over 3 million appeared to beat normally.

A few days earlier, on February 15, air defense sirens wailed for more than two hours as 26 Russian missiles headed t