for refugees from Russian-occupied areas, the long wait to return home

In Zaporizhia (Ukraine), there is an outlying parking lot that the Ukrainian authorities do not particularly want to show to foreign journalists. In long lines of cars, Ukrainians are waiting to return home, in territory now occupied by the Russians. There are hundreds of them waiting, stranded between concrete and forest, and between fear and resignation. “We cannot remain refugees forever. We have no more money and our parents are all alone there. We have to go back”says a Ukrainian woman.

Zaporizhia is the only gateway between Ukrainian territory and the areas occupied by Russia. The formalities are long between Ukrainian and Russian authorities. UOnly twenty vehicles are authorized, per destination and per day. Sometimes it takes up to a month to wait. So, residents find themselves counting the passing days. The best equipped have set up their tent, others have taken up residence in their car.