Chris Collison, who's been writing to us from Kiev, says this is the video everybody's talking about today:

He explains what's going on in the footage:

I think it really illustrates just how insane the situation is for both sides. What appear to be unarmed members of the Ukrainian Air Force approach Russian soldiers who are preventing them from accessing their base. The sing the Ukrainian national anthem as they get closer, then one of the Russian soldiers fires warning shots into the air. A few people hit the ground but quickly get back up and keep marching. Once they are within a few yards, you can hear the Russian soldier with the gun yell, "Stop! I'll shoot." One of the Ukrainians replies, "This is a Soviet flag. You are going to shoot it?" Then what appear to be the leaders from both sides tell everyone to be quiet and start talking to each other. The Russian soldiers are clearly scared and confused. Both sides are linked by a common history and language, and nobody seems to really know why this is happening.

Interestingly, someone also yells, "America is with us!"

Nobody has been shot on either side of the conflict yet, but there are reports of on-the-ground negotiations similar to this one where Ukrainian soldiers are refusing to fight, but aren't exactly surrendering either. (I posted another video of a similar-looking negotiation on Slog yesterday.)

The Ukrainian soldiers are walking an almost impossible tightrope—if they shoot first, they're doomed. If they start surrendering it will only give Putin and his military more momentum and the appearance of some legitimacy. It looks like they're trying to hold their ground, and hold onto their weapons and equipment, but they can't actually fight.