Zoya, a pensioner who lives near the front line of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, cowered under the stairs as fresh shelling shook her home.
It was about 5am, only hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he was officially recognising the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent.
"When it impacted, everything shook, glass flew around … I hid under the stairs. It was horrible, just horrible," the 68-year-old said.
Ukraine's government has called up reserve soldiers and Western leaders have announced a volley of sanctions penalising Moscow in response to Russia's actions.
Civilians and soldiers on the ground who have been at war since 2014 have reacted with a mixture of fear and resignation.
Asked what she thought of Mr Putin's actions, Zoya shrugged. "I don't expect anything good …" she said.
"I'm so fed up … For eight years now we don't live, but just exist."
Her town of Novoluhanske is located in Ukraine's Donetsk region but just outside the self-proclaimed "People’s Republics of Donetsk ".
Ukrainian government forces recaptured the town from the Moscow-backed separatists in 2017. However, the fighting that first erupted in 2014 has continued, taking a heavy toll on local people trapped in their homes with nowhere else to go.
More than 14,000 people have been killed in the conflict over the past eight years.
Soldiers patrolling earthen trenches nearby fear the separatists, backed up by Russian troops expected to arrive in the area very soon, will make renewed attempts to seize the town and surrounding areas.
"We are ready to stop an incursion by the Russian Federation, including the Luhansk and Donetsk people's republics," Oleksiy, a Ukrainian soldier, said.
Some Ukrainians on the front line in the Luhansk region have taken refuge in bomb shelters, with local resident Hennadii saying shelling from both sides had increased since Mr Putin's televised speech.
"This is what de-escalation looks like," he added.
Several residents have sought refuge in the basement of a five-storey building for two days.
One of them, Andrii, said his wife hoped to get back to their house that evening, but he doubted the shelling would stop.
"We are very tired but we can do nothing about it," he said.
In Pisky, where Ukraine's military has been holding the line since 2014, 83-year-old Stepanivna, told Sky she has no reason to leave the village she was raised in.
"Where should I go?" she asked.
"I am not afraid of anything. If I am killed, so be it.
"The only thing I would want is for it to happen quickly."
Further from the front line, in the city of Kamastorsk, Australian photojournalist Bryce Wilson said locals seemed to be going about their lives as normal.
"People are inside singing karaoke and partying," Wilson told the ABC.
"On the ground, you genuinely would not realise that there was a giant sword of Damocles hanging over this whole area."
He said he had been going out to the front lines and seen an increase in "ceasefire violations" damaging critical civil infrastructure.
"We visited a hospital that is definitely not prepared," he said.
"They told me that they need more staff, more equipment, more time, more space in the basement to safely house patients in the event of shelling.
"If I'm being truthfully honest, I don't think Ukraine is potentially ready for a mass-scale invasion.
"And I'm very concerned for my friends here."
Hope, fear and uncertainty in Donetsk
On the other side of the front line in Donetsk, the largest city in the region of the same name, some residents expressed joy and gratitude that Russia had officially recognised the area as independent, but others were filled with foreboding about what might come next.
Tanks and military vehicles have been spotted in Donetsk since Mr Putin signed a decree ordering Russian troops to "keep the peace" in the breakaway states, but Russia has not yet confirmed that troops have moved in.
"This is very important for me," Dmitry, a former member of a pro-Russian separatist militia, said.
"I know that the blood I spilled with my comrades and our labours and efforts and the losses of civilians were not in vain all this time."
He was looking forward to the arrival of Russian troops.
"The great people of Donbas have suffered so much," he said.
"They need it (the arrival of Russian troops) now. They've had enough blood, enough death."
A convoy of at least a dozen cars flying large, Russian tricolour flags and honking their horns wound its way through the city centre after Mr Putin's televised speech. "Russia, hoorah!" shouted one driver.
Other residents of Donetsk were trying to go about their lives as normal, walking with children or shopping at the market, a Reuters witness said. A wedding took place at a hotel.
However, six blasts were later heard in the centre of the city. Their origin was not clear. A diplomatic source told Reuters shelling had resumed on the line of contact between the Ukrainian government and separatist forces.
'Everyone is very scared'
Donetsk resident Irina said Russia's actions were not unexpected but people were unsure how to react.
"I don't know what will happen now — everyone is at a loss and uncertain," she said, adding that she hoped the reinforced Russian backing would help bring an end to the conflict.
"If there are [Russian] troops, it means it's not worth fighting because Russia is a great power, mighty, nuclear."
Vyacheslav, a man of about 60, said he hoped the deployment of Russian troops would bring an end to "provocative actions" by Ukraine, saying: "I think the other side will also have a think and decide to move onto peace negotiations."
But Karina, a woman in her early 20s, burst into tears as she described her feelings.
"To be honest, it's such a depressing situation right now that I don't know how good a decision this really is and how much it can lead to peace," she said.
Referring to the breakaway regions' decision to evacuate tens of thousands of women and children from Donetsk and Luhansk in recent days, Karina added: "Now everyone is very worried. Everyone is being taken away from their fathers, brothers, husbands."
"In fact, everyone is very scared."
ABC/wires
