'Sitting in a bomb shelter made me feel fallible'

Paul Hands said he has had the opportunity to learn about life "under the threat of war"

"Sitting in that bomb shelter made you feel fallible, human, and grateful to be alive."

The words of Paul Hands, a photographer from Hinckley, Leicestershire, who has been on holiday in Kyiv with his Ukrainian girlfriend.

The 50-year-old has spent his spare time capturing day-to-day life in the country and sharing it on social media.

He spoke to the BBC in the aftermath of one of the heaviest bombardments that Russia had launched against Ukraine for weeks.

Mr Hands said "desensitisation is everywhere" after taking this photo of children playing on a tank

This damage was caused by an overnight drone attack

Mr Hands told the BBC although there had been air raids "most evenings" during his stay, life had been "almost like peacetime" with people continuing their normal routines.

He added there was an app that allowed people in Ukraine to see where the air raids would target, and often, people could see they were not in danger.

"Nobody's afraid, they've become used to it, they've become desensitised to it I think," he said.

However, the attacks earlier in the week were the first time he actually needed to head to a bomb shelter.

Mr Hands said the air raid shelter had been at least 25ft below ground

The air raid shelter had been really "hot" Mr Hands said

Mr Hands said he passed the shelter frequently because it was near where he was staying and had commented to his girlfriend he wanted to see the inside.

"I'm very inquisitive, and that's my job as a photographer, to ask questions visually," he said.

"I don't really want to say my wishes came true, but I got that opportunity.

"So we just set up camp on these benches, and we got some travel pillows, a cup of tea, and a bottle of water, and took it all in really."

He said that it felt "quite eerie" since it was such an unusual experience.

"And to make things worse, in the first room beyond where we were staying, there was only one light working, and it was flickering as if it was in a horror movie."

Children continue to laugh and enjoy life despite the threat of war

This mural on the side of a highway had writing in English reading "peace for the future"

Mr Hands said that the experience "without a shadow of a doubt" reminded him of the reality of a nation at war.

"This was the most serious [attack] we'd experienced since arriving in Kyiv," he said.

"It was designed to create a feeling of terror in the hearts of the Ukrainian people on a very cloudy night, to make it more challenging for the UDF [to intercept the attack]."

However, he said it made him feel grateful for "another day to live", as he continues to photograph life after the attack.

He will begin his return to Leicestershire on Monday, which will take 27 hours by train.

Mr Hands said the banks of the river Dnieper looked "gorgeous and normal"