Well, we're here walking in the center of Sloviansk.

For over a month now, LA Times Middle East Bureau chief, Nabi Bulos, has been on the ground in Ukraine,

covering the escalating Russian invasion.

You can see the preparations for these Molotov cocktails.

This here is chunks of styrofoam being put into the bottles

because it's a good sort of accelerant.

Nabi has seen fierce fighting by Ukrainians,

non-stop bombardment by Russians,

hope and fear and chaos.

He's criss-crossed Ukraine to hear residents tell their stories. Stories, as her country's

situation keeps getting more dire. I'm Gustavo Arriano. You're listening to The Times, Daily

News from the LA Times. It's Wednesday, March 9, 2022.

Nabi, welcome to the Times.

Thank you for having me.

We last talked to you about two weeks ago, just as Russia began its invasion.

And back then, many thought Ukraine would quickly give up.

But instead, Ukraine has inspired people around the world.

How much of what has happened so far surprised you?

Well, I mean, the sheer timeline of the invasion has been surprising.

There were expectations that Kiev would fall fairly quickly,

that in any case you would see the Russians being able to take many of these major cities without much of a fight,

only because of the gargantuan number of tanks, armored vehicles, and all the material they had assembled.

...