According to the United Nations on Tuesday, 2 million refugees fled Europe. This is the largest exodus Europe has witnessed since World War II. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder tweeted that one million refugees were children. He called it “a dark historical premiere.”
Polina Shulga, a mother of three-year-old daughters, tried to make it easier by hiding the truth.
Shulga stated, “Of course it is difficult to travel with children. But I explained to them that we’re going to vacation and that we’ll definitely return home one day after the war’s over.”
Although she didn’t know what the next step would be after arriving from Ukraine’s capital Kyiv to Hungary, she believed that it would help her grow. As her little girl tugged at her coat’s hem, she stated, “I feel like i’m responsible for her child, so it was simpler for me to take that step and leave.”
Nataliya Grigoriyovna Levchinka from Donetsk, eastern Ukraine felt the same.
The retired teacher stated that “I am generally in some sort of a terrible dream which continues on.” My daughter would have made me feel like I was in an abstraction. “I wouldn’t be capable of coming to my senses.”
The government of Ukraine has issued a decree that bans men between 18 and 60 years old from leaving the country. This means that the majority of people fleeing the country are children and women, although the U.N. does not have precise numbers. The policy of Ukraine is to encourage men to join the fight against Russia’s invasion and to keep them available to military conscription.
This has resulted in heartbreaking scenes of separation and growing worry as some of the encircled, battered areas of Ukraine fall out of reach.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy , Ukrainian President, spoke in a video about International Women’s Day. This is a Ukrainian day of celebration.
“Ukrainians celebrate the holiday of spring, which we often do.” He said, “We congratulate our mothers, our daughters, wives and mothers.” “Usually. “But not today. Today, I can’t say the traditional words. I just can’t congratulate you. When there are so many people dying, it is hard for me to say “congratulations”. When there is so many deaths, when there is so much grief. If the war goes on.”
Flowers, chocolates, kisses, and speeches are common gifts for women. The messages were filled with sadness and pleas for forgiveness, but this time they were also tinged by sorrow.
Elena Shapoval, a Moldovan refugee, apologized for her tears. While recalling their journey from Odesa, she doesn’t hide her tears from her children, aged 4 and 8. Shapoval stated that the younger child doesn’t get it. Shapoval said that the older one tried to calm her down by saying, “Mom, everything will work out fine.”
As she considers the lives they have left behind, she cannot allow herself to fall into grief. She said, “I know that we’ll need to work a lot now.” “I have to get my act together, I have two kids and I need to make sure I am strong.
Alina Rudakova, a Romanian teenager, began to weep when she realized that she had completely forgotten about the holiday. The 19-year old Melitopol girl received a bouquet and other gifts from her father last year.
She said, “This year I didn’t even think of this day.” “This day was really terrible.”
Some refugees arrived in Romania and Poland, and were greeted by immigration officials and volunteers with spring flowers. This was a reminder that there are better days ahead.
Mariia Kotelnytska, 15, from Poltava, said, “I was so stressed. I was so tired. It kind of made my whole day.”
Anastasia Kvirikashvili, 19, from Vinnytsia said that “the best gift for any woman will be to end the war.”
New fragilities were revealed as refugees arrived. Matthew Saltmarsh, a spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency said that the refugees now arrived with less resources than those who originally came.
Children and women filled beds in a theater located at the Ukrainian Cultural Center, Przemysl, Poland. Others checked their phones for updates.
“It was difficult for me to prepare myself for travelling,” stated a refugee from Kyiv, Natalia. “My sister told me that I was very brave, but I think I’m a coward. “I want to go home.”
Yelena Makarova, a Polish border official in Medyka, stated that her hurried flight to Kremenchuk from Russia with her mother and teenage child was the end of her normal life. Her husband, brother and father all remained behind.
She said, “I wish (the war) would end as soon as possible because, do you know? For every mother, there is nothing worse.” “I don’t get why our children are dying. “I don’t know.”