As Russian forces keep building, Ukrainians resist the urge to panic

Ukraine may be at the epicentre of international anxiety over a possible Russian attack, but in the capital, Kyiv, the signs of panic are few.

"Like right now, maybe we [are] a little bit more scared, but the whole of Ukraine lives a normal life," said Inna Prokopchuck, who with her husband, Vasyl Voronovksy, recently opened a tattoo shop a few blocks from Independence Square.

Notably, the business sports the logo of a Canadian Maple Leaf and a grinning, toothy beaver with the words "Great Canadian Ink." 

Prokopchuck said the couple recently returned to Ukraine after living in Edmonton for four years to open a shop in Kyiv. Since Canada's brand is strong here, they made it part of their new business. 

The couple began etching tattoos here just before Christmas, not long before Russia's military began its enormous buildup along Ukraine's borders.

Western defence officials claim Russia now has upward of 100 full-fledged fighting battalions in the border regions,  supported by artillery, missile launchers, modern fighter aircraft and a heavy naval presence in the Black Sea — more than 130,000 troops in total.

Canadian, American and British embassies have already evacuated non-essential personnel from the capital as a precaution.

Nonetheless, at the tattoo shop, business has been strong, Prokopchuck said. 

"Like you have everyday [life] — your family, your work, but you must get some emotion. Some people go to concerts; some people get tattoos," she told CBC News on a visit to the shop.

Voronovksy agrees.

"We live today, now and here," he said. "We must live the way other countries live … however, being aware and expecting a Russian attack."   

That stoicism is rooted in the belief of many — if not most — Ukrainians that the country has already been at war with Russia for the better part of eight years. The conflict began with a popular uprising that ousted Russia-backed president Viktor Yanukovych in early 2014, which set off separatist unrest in Eastern Ukraine and prompted Putin to eventually seize Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in the south.

The ensuing war between government forces and Russia-backed separatists in the breakaway eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk has left about 14,000 combatants and civilians dead, according to Ukrainian government estimates.

While Russia claims its government does not play a part in the conflict, Ukraine, its Western allies and some analysts allege there is evidence it has been supplying arms, funds and troops to the separatist-controlled region for years.