The nurse, 44 years old, from Chernihiv in northern Ukraine said that she didn’t know if she had a place to call home. “Our city is under siege, and we barely managed to escape.”
Yurchuk arrived in Suceava, a Romanian border town that has received thousands of refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over the past few days. Chernihiv now looks like a ghost town, she stated.
“People in cars are blown to pieces by mines,” Yarchuk stated.
Although the flow of people from Ukraine to neighboring countries appears to have decreased in the last week, refugees’ horrifying accounts of death and destruction are evidence of the ongoing suffering of civilians living in cities under siege by Russian forces.
Refugees described their journeys in packed trains, and how they slept on one another at the Przemysl train station, Poland. As they passed through the western region of Ukraine, near Lviv, some heard loud explosions. This was where Russian missiles struck a military training facility. At least 35 people were killed.
“When I was passing through Lviv, there was an explosion. Elizaveta Zmievskaya (25), from Dnipro said that they bombed two military bases. “The sky turned red.”
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, more than 1.5 million refugees arrived in Poland. This is in addition to the 2.7 million who have fled, according to the United Nations.
Anna Michalska, Polish border guard spokesperson, said that the number of refugees who have arrived in Poland has decreased over the past week. On Saturday, there were 79,800, as opposed to 142,000 the week before. On Saturday, Romania received 16,676 refugees, while 29,636 arrived in Romania on March 7.
Despite this, refugees claimed that their escape was just as difficult as ever.
Roman Titov Chuguyev (16) traveled more than 10 hours with his brother in a packed train before meeting his mother, who was already in Poland.
He said, “We had no choice but to travel alone.” It was extremely crowded with many people sleeping on top of each other. There were 8-10 people in the cabin that was meant for six people. It was very difficult.”
Svetlana Titova, his mother, said that she was relieved to see her sons finally arrive.
She said, “I had no relationship with them.” “I was worried, and I was here with others who waited.”
Natalia, a 55 year-old Ukrainian refugee hailing from Zaporizhizhia was fleeing for her second time after she fled the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. In 2014, Russia annexed it.
She said, “It was frightening.” “We didn’t wait for them (Russians), and this is not the first time we have had to experience it. It was frightening.”
The majority of refugees fleeing Ukraine are women and children. Men aged 18-60 cannot leave the country and have stayed to fight. Many have already moved to Europe to be with their friends and families.
A bus carrying 50 Ukrainian refugees was found to have overturned on a highway in northern Italy at dawn, according to firefighters. One person was killed, it was reported.
The government of Britain announced that it would pay a monetary reward for people who provide shelter to Ukrainians fleeing Russian invasion. Officials announced Sunday that the government will pay 350 pounds ($456) per monthly to sponsors of the Home for Ukraine program.
Refugees like Svitlana Prodnia (55-year-old Dniproan) just wish that they didn’t have to leave.
She said, “Everybody hopes that they will return home soon.”