The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has estimated that the number of refugees could rise to four million. This estimate may be too low.
LVIV Air alarm sirens do not disperse a large crowd around Lviv main railway station. Russia has not yet bombed Lviv in western Ukraine. Instead, it is one of the hubs as people flee the raging war in Ukraine.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Russia’s war against Ukraine has already driven more than a million people away from Ukraine.
Most Ukrainian refugees have traveled to neighboring Poland. The organization has estimated that up to four million people may have to flee Ukraine, and this estimate may be too low.
Lviv’s art noveau-style main railway station is now one of the stages as Europe’s largest refugee movement develops in decades.
In the square in front of the station stand tents set up for refugees and aid organizations distribute food.
Lena Slavikovska fled with his children from the town of Bila Tserkva in the Kiev region as the sounds of explosions got closer and closer.
– I never thought I would have to flee my country like this, he says.
– Why do I have to wake my child in the middle of the night and escape somewhere? Why? How do I explain this to my child?
A trip on a dark train
Trains bring more people all the time. There is a huge crowd for trains to Poland. The corridors under the tracks are full of queuing and people are jumping over the tracks with their carryovers to get out of the station.
Arrived from Kiev with her daughter and grandchildren Jelena Mokrouzova tells of a city where explosions and the sounds of air warnings are constant.
– The war started, there were huge explosions, rockets. The sirens sound. We hid in the basement, little one KirillThe boy says briskly when his grandmother asks him to describe the situation as well.
Mum Katja says that for a 4-year-old, this is all terrible, of course.
In addition to the firefighting, the conditions of the residents in the capital are becoming more and more difficult. Yelena Mokrouzova says that in Kiev most of the shops do not work and pharmacies are closed.
– There is no bread or meat in the shops. Some don’t even have milk. The queues are very long, the store got to queue for two hours, the pharmacy for four hours.
The train from Kiev was crowded. During the trip, the windows were darkened and the use of mobile phones was banned. So the train was dark all the way.
– It was very scary to be honest, Jelena Mokrouzova says.
They head to Poland and then to Germany, where Jelena’s brother lives. The men of the family were left behind to enlist in regional defense.
International students are looking for a way out
The war has also driven foreigners in the country. A large number of students from South Asia, Africa and the Middle East have studied at the universities of Kharkov. Now they, too, are trying to escape war on the border between Poland and Ukraine’s other EU neighbors. Kharkiv has been the subject of very severe firing.
At the Lviv station, a group of Indian students said they had traveled by rail from Kharkov for 20 hours without food and water. The embassy had promised help as they reached the border.
The situation is not easy, as national embassies are unable to help students in Ukraine. In addition, students, especially from African countries, have reported discrimination against the Ukrainian and Polish authorities. In the queues at the border, Ukrainian women and children are given priority.
In Lviv, organizations and volunteers help newcomers.
“Nobody stays on the street”
Nastja Pentsak works as a voluntary organization to help people find a place to stay. Tea, coffee, food and spiritual support are also available.
Volunteers try to make sure there is space in schools, kindergartens, gyms and even theaters.
– We’re looking for a place to stay – no one is left on the street. Residents of Lviv even provide their apartments so people can spend the night indoors, Nastya Pentsak says.
The station also has psychologists to help arrivals and rooms for mothers and children to calm down.
The number of entrants is fluctuating. The day before, there had been far fewer arrivals and then four trains arrived at the same time.
– There are a lot of people and the volunteers are already tired, it’s hard to bear. But we will get over it, Nastya Pentsak says. He says there will be more and more volunteers. There is enough work for everyone.
In the tent with his children Lena Slavikovska says he hopes the situation will end soon
– And that we would soon return with our children to our men and live again in a peaceful country.