Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

I was in a meeting in The New York Times’s newsroom in Midtown Manhattan when a blaring siren went off on my cellphone. Those around me looked on quizzically as alerts started appearing across my screen.

“Drone threat. Take shelter immediately.”

“Air raid alert. Go to shelter!”

And then, moments later: “All clear. Be careful.”

My thoughts immediately went to members of The Times’s staff in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. The messages were meant for them, not me.

I recently made a weeklong visit to Ukraine to visit our Kyiv bureau and, as an act of solidarity with my colleagues, I have not yet removed from my phone the air alert app that is widely used to warn civilians of incoming Russian military activity.

I endured the alarming messages for five days in Kyiv, hustling to a bomb shelter on one occasion and sleepwalking to the bathroom of my hotel during another barrage. My colleagues, led by Andrew Kramer, our Kyiv bureau chief, have been living through these alerts for years.

At first glance, Kyiv is a bustling city worthy of a visit. Its restaurant scene is healthy. Its architecture inspires awe. But look a little deeper and you’ll see a city very much at war.