For those of us who were here when Russia's full-scale invasion began in February, there's an element of déjà vu. We've been told to spend as much time as we can in the basement, as further attacks, using missiles and drones, are expected.
But this is also different. The explosions here in Kyiv are much closer to the center. Not distant thumps from the suburbs, but loud reverberations close to streets and locations we've come to know well in the past eight months.
It's difficult to tell what is being targeted, but a statement from Ukraine's ministry of culture said museums and the Philharmonic building had been hit.
One video circulating on social media showed a huge crater in a children's playground.
Another showed a missile slamming into Mayor Vital Klitschko's glass bridge, a popular tourist spot and viewpoint above the Dnipro River.
Olena and Valerie live in an apartment overlooking the playground in Shevchenko Park.
"It was horrifying. In an instant, there appeared a hole in our life. It was terrible," Olena told me.
"I spent my entire life here. I went to school here. Cleaned the park, sowed grass. My son and now my grandson, grew up here," said her husband Valerie. "There are always so many kids here.
"I think they wanted to hit the university building and the monument to Hrushevsky. Those are important symbols for us, it was a symbolic attack."
Symbolic targets? It's hard, this early, to discern the logic. But reports from elsewhere speak of a thermal power plant being hit in Lviv. President Volodymyr Zelensky says energy facilities are being hit all over the country.
It's been a long time since so many cities were targeted at the same time. Moscow was apparently determined to make the biggest possible statement.
Two days ago, social media filled with videos and memes as Ukrainians wildly celebrated the attack on the bridge linking Russia with the Crimean Peninsula.
Today, the videos are all of shell-shocked residents, fiery debris and urgent warnings. Any sense of euphoria is gone.
It feels inevitable, but that doesn't lessen the shock. Fear is once again stalking the capital.
Over the past week, the men of Ukraine's D1 National Guard Unit have advanced more than 20 km (12 miles) east from the recently liberated city of Lyman in Donetsk region. They now occupy a former Russian position in a wood - still within range of the retreating Russian army. Part of "forever Russia" is already back in Ukrainian hands. Russia's now the defending army.
The reversal in fortunes has been a shot in the arm for Ukrainian troops. There's a palpable sense of confidence among them, even though they're still within range. Ilya, another member of the unit, tells me: "We can retake territory, but the Russians cannot." I ask why? "Because they are weak now, they're scared of us, they're running from us."
This position also tells a story about the difference between Ukrainian and Russian discipline and morale. Strewn across the ground and hanging in trees are remnants of the retreating Russian forces - empty cans, ration packs, boots, bottles and clothes.
Ilya picks up a discarded Russian helmet and compares it with his own. Army of the future," jokes Ilya as he taps the Russian helmet. "A very bad future," adds a comrade, laughing.
It's not that dissimilar to what Russian troops would have worn in World War Two. They hold up a Russian winter glove and read the label. It says it was made in 2005. "New for Russians," they joke. Another soldier called Duke says Russia treats its soldiers like meat.
Oleksii says discarded Russian trash often gives away their positions when they fly their small drone. They rely on one of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite kits for communication. They say it's been working all week.
As you drive around the Donbas, there are more signs of Russia's depleted army. We witnessed Ukrainian forces towing away a troop carrier and a large self-propelled gun - both still marked with the Russian "Z".
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