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The Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia has had two weeks to prepare their small community of 12,500 people for a potential Russian invasion.

While many Ukrainians join the defense force and many others flee the country, those who remain are prepared to defend their motherland. Officials here are trying to keep life as normal as possible, encouraging restaurants and stores to remain open.

Walking through the city center, CNN saw government buildings stacked high with sandbags, road signs with colorful language denouncing Russian occupation, and many checkpoints. And yet, there are still people out in the streets, eating at cafes, and going about their life.

“If we don’t keep economy, we don’t keep army,” Vladyslav Kryveshko, the district’s head, told CNN. “We must do this.”

He said the community has had some time to prepare, work on humanitarian aid and strengthen its defenses while other regions in the country get hit.

“Time is like gold,” he told CNN. “Today, we are ready … but we don’t want this.”

On the ground, CNN saw a warehouse owner housing truckloads full of humanitarian aid sent from all over Europe, former police and firemen manning the village checkpoint around the clock — all preparing in case of Russian attack.

In his message to the world, he said Ukrainians really need a no-fly zone over the country.

“I want to say thank you to the rest of the world. But I also want to say that we need help,” he said. “Please, we need to close the skies.”