More than 450,000 Ukrainians fleeing the war have found refuge in Poland. Some are only transiting through Warsaw, others hope to be able to stay for the duration of the fighting. The Poles are mobilizing to help them.
Article written by
Posted
Reading time : 2 min.
Sylvia and Monica navigate with a big smile between the groups of somewhat haggard travellers. They carry portions of very hot soup on a tray. “We cooked this at six o’clock this morning”, says Sylvia. “A hundred liters of soup that we come to distribute for free.” They drove 40 kilometers on Tuesday March 2 with her friend to come to the Warsaw bus station. “We couldn’t sit at home doing nothing while the war is right in front of us. Who can say what Poland will be like in a week or two. Maybe it will be us who will need soup soon ?” dozens of volunteers distribute food to Ukrainian families who left in haste.
>> War in Ukraine: follow the latest information in our live
/2022/03/02/phpgJjDvZ.jpg)
According to a census by the UN High Commissioner, seven days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 453,982 Ukrainians have found refuge in Poland, the neighboring country from where they sometimes leave for other European destinations. Many only pass through Warsaw. The Polish capital’s bus station has become a major transit point for several days. Lessia casually grabs two sandwiches for her young children before running to catch a new bus. “We are so grateful for all this help from the Poles.” The trip was long. First Romania, then Budapest, Hungary. And now to a small town south of Warsaw, where she hopes to stay for a while.
“We will remain during the war. My children are too afraid of the aerial bombardments in Ukraine. Even today, now that we are in Poland, they tremble at the passage of any civilian plane.”
Lessia, a Ukrainian refugeeat franceinfo
Everywhere, mountains of suitcases and in a large waiting room, the television broadcasting images of cities on fire. Arturo watches from a œhe, he is Polish, but he explains that he plans to go and fight in Ukraine. “I’ll see how it goes”, he said, fearing that Russian aggression would cross the border anyway. Upstairs, in the very small hotel at the bus station, there are still majority women and children. “Our husbands stayed in Ukraine to keep the house and our belongings”, assures Yulia who lived until now in Kiev. She leaves Thursday for Italy with her daughters who try to smile. Someone gave them a puzzle. Their mum bursts into tears thinking they won’t be going home for weeks.