A volunteer carries a child of Ukrainian citizens as they arrive with buses in Przemsyl, eastern Poland. Photo: AFP/Getty
By Patryk Krych | The World Daily | FEBRUARY 27th 2022
According to the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs, over 115,000 Ukrainian refugees have made their way to the primary border crossing between the two countries – Medyka. Estimations suggest that at least 1 million refugees may eventually cross into Poland to escape the war.
Polish officials stated that with or without a valid passport, anybody from Ukraine is allowed entry into Poland. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, over 150,000 Ukrainian refugees have left the country, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. Though the numbers are constantly changing, it’s known that at least 115,000 of these refugees have left for the neighbouring Poland.
Conditions are increasingly difficult, particularly in the Ukrainian city of Lviv where thousands of refugees had flocked to board a train bound for Poland. The situation is similar all across the country, as warning shots had recently been let off at Kyiv station in order to help control the increasingly desperate crowds.
As Russians advance on the Ukrainian capital, people have been forced to leave their homes and make their way in droves towards train stations and highways leading to the border. Men aged under 60 and over 18 had however been allegedly prevented from leaving the country by officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had declared a general mobilisation and thus went on to order all men under pension age to stay in the country and help in the fight against the Russians. Thus, man men, young and old, were forced to say goodbye to their families.
“There was very little organisation and the closer you got to the front, the more people were pushing and shoving,” said one man who was caught up in the long lines along the Polish border, having been surrounded by crowds of people waiting 25 hours to escape the shelling.
He added: “Every so often there would be these big surges and people would be screaming. There were lots of young children and it felt very dangerous. Terrifying. Fights broke out as people accused others of pushing in or of hurting them. People had blood running down their faces. We saw a couple of women fainting and being carried above the crowd.”
Many made it to the border by car or train, others had taken busses, whilst some had made a long of gruelling journey that involved walking for hours on end. Some were greeted by waiting relatives at the border, others are still waiting for their relatives to arrive.
