people to remain at home. some people have heeded those words. some shops are closed, some are open and the metro system is -- public transport is still running. the metro stations are also being opened up for use as places to shelter if the conflict comes closer to this city of at least 1.5 million people. the real estimates should probably put that around 2 million. it's the second biggest city in the country. it's a significant target depending on what putin's game plan is. is he trying to draw ukrainian forces off -- away from the east by that threatening move with the transporter crossing from belarus south towards kyiv? is he trying to do the same by threatening kharkiv by knocking out the defensive positions and carving out those in the east, lieu hluhansk and donetsk.