蜜芽传媒

The authorities in Ukraine are urging residents in the east of the country -- Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv -- to evacuate as quickly as possible fearing Russian attacks will intensify.

However many refuse to leave, among them Maria Avdeeva, a security analyst who lives in Kharkiv. She tells Newsday she is confident that 鈥淯kraine鈥檚 military will hold the city鈥� but she fears 鈥渢hey will try to get control of small towns outside Kharkiv like they did in Kyiv鈥�.

(Picture: This general view taken on March 30, 2022 shows fire and smoke lighting up the night sky, east of Kharkiv. Ukrainian forces had pushed back Russian troops from a highway outside the country's second-largest city of Kharkiv. Credit: FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)