Odessa shook on the morning of April 3. It was early, before sunrise. There were three successive explosions, each one louder until the windows of my hotel room began rattling. The air raid sirens were going off. I texted Isabelle Khurshudyan, the correspondent I was working with, to see if she was heading to the bomb shelter in the basement of the hotel. She was.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's unprovoked, brutal and up to now, bungled, invasion of neighbor Ukraine has left cities and families broken. The Russian army continually targets civilian targets, killing scores of non-combatants. People like Alla Shapovalovna, who lives in a small rural town north of Mykolaiv, have endured shelling and occupation. Residents of her town were fortunate: they sent the Russians packing with the help of the Ukrainian military which continues to show a perseverance and determination many thought impossible.