AP PHOTOS: Ukrainians shelter in subway stations, basements

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Svyatoslav, 6, plays with his tablet in a public basement used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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People lie in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Zoya Shu)

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People take shelter at a building basement while the sirens sound announcing new attacks in the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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People rest in the Kyiv subway, using it as a shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

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A child sleeps in an armchair as other stand around in a shelter during Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

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A woman speaks on the phone as she stands with other people in a shelter during Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

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People rest in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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A couple enter a shelter with a baby in a stroller during Russian shelling outside Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

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People run to take shelter while the sirens sound announcing new attacks in the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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People rest in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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A woman holds her daughter as they sit in a basement used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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People lie in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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People rest in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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A woman reflected in a mirror stands with her children in a shelter during Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

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Vladimir, 70, and his wife Tamara, 80, sit in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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People rest in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

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Ukrainian Emergency Situation employees stand in a shelter during Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — They lay blankets down on the cold tiles of subway stations and basements, and settled in to wait. They guided baby carriages or wheelchairs down the stairs. In these darkened shelters, they scrolled for news on their phones, or used them to distract frightened children.

In Ukraine’s capital, many residents hurried underground for safety overnight Thursday and Friday as Russian forces fired on the city and moved closer. Outside, gunfire and explosions could be heard. Shelling sliced through a Kyiv apartment building and pummeled bridges and schools.

Families huddled together on the crowded platforms of ornate subway stations, and one boy slept in an armchair that had been brought down. Many people expressed horror and shock at the violence and sudden threat to their lives, and wondered what would come next.