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A report from the train station in Przemyśl, southeastern Poland
A blue Ukrainian railways train stands on platform five. It is surrounded by metal mesh. Soldiers direct Ukrainian refugees to a one-story building - for passport and customs clearance. Standing near the mesh is Maksym. He is wearing a dark sweatshirt and a beige coat. He lives and works in Opole. Two weeks ago, he graduated in computer science, gave his notice at work and wanted to return to Ukraine. His girlfriend Ania lived and worked in Kyiv.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine changed their plans. Max did not leave – instead, he started to organize Ania's escape.
Her odyssey began on a Saturday morning in the Kyiv metro. When the subway service suddenly stopped, Ania took a taxi to the train station. Maksym was trembling- there were fights with Russian troops on the streets of Kyiv.
Ania arrived in Lviv, located less than 60 miles away from the city of Przemyśl on the Polish side of the border. But the station in Lviv was already overwhelmed by refugees. The first train she was able to get on left on Sunday morning. The train arrived in Przemyśl on Monday afternoon - 30 hours later.
Under normal circumstances, the train has a capacity of 600 seats. But there is a war going on, so the impossible becomes possible - this time, the train carried 2,000 people.
In total, 25,000 Ukrainian refugees reached Przemyśl by rail until Monday.
Maksym and Ania come from Poltava in eastern Ukraine, not far from Kharkiv, which was hit by Russian rockets on Monday. In Poltava, Maksym says, things are relatively calm at the moment. His and Ania's parents refused to go to Poland. – They want to stay in Poltava and defend the city- he says. His 15-year-old brother also stayed in Ukraine. He could only cross the border accompanied by an adult, but his parents refuse to leave.
We talk when Ania has already disappeared in the building of border guards and customs officers. Maksym had been waiting for her since Saturday evening. He spent two nights in his car. In the meantime, he helped his compatriots - he drove one person to Rzeszów and another to Kraków.
- When Ania comes out, don't take pictures or talk to her. She has been through a lot- he tells me.
More than a dozen trains with Ukrainian war refugees stand on the Ukrainian-Polish border on Monday morning. According to the estimates of Przemyśl city authorities, they’re carrying some 30,000 Ukrainians - mostly mothers with children and senior citizens.
They have to wait because there is only one broad-gauge railway line in Przemyśl, which is wider than the Polish gauge. Trains from Ukraine can only enter on this one line. Checking in refugees takes up to four hours. Then the border guard officers check in the Ukrainians who are going back to Lviv. Dozens of men stand in front of the building, there are also women.
Luba, a volunteer we meet at the train station, explains: - The men are going back to fight, and women are going back to evacuate their children.
While the Ukrainians going to war are being checked in, Polish soldiers load the train with humanitarian aid: bandages, food, water. The train returns to Ukraine and only when the track is free, another train can enter Poland.
The 24-year-old Ina was lucky - she arrived in Poland and is about to move to Wrocław. Her mother lives there. She left Ukraine five years ago and married a Pole. Ina has two miniature pinschers inside her coat pocket - despite their coats, they are shivering from the cold.
- These are Jessi and Bambi- Ina says. She lives in Zaporizhzhya, but when Russia invaded Ukraine, she was in Dnepropetrovsk. She set off to Poland on the same day. She took a train raid to Lviv from Mariupol.
- My co-passengers told me that when they left Mariupol, there was a tank battle going on. The train stood in the field and moved when the exchange of fire was over. One lady said that her husband walked her to the train and then went back to the battlefield. The friend who brought me onto the train also went back- Ina says.
On the train ride to Lviv, there were only women with children and senior citizens: - There were ten people and my two dogs in the compartment. People also stood in the corridor. We shared food.
In Lviv, she slept at the train station. She heard the alarm sirens. When she boarded the train to Przemyśl, she thanked God. The night was the worst. The train stood in an open area - if the Russians attacked it, there would be no place to hide.
- I was afraid of every sound – Ina says. - The people living in villages nearby were wonderful. They brought us food because our supplies had run out.
- It will only get worse - says a city guard from Przemyśl, a former soldier. - I have already seen something like this once in my life. In 1995, I was on a peace mission in the former Yugoslavia. I saw the Croatian counteroffensive and the drama of the Serbian people. For now, people are fleeing Kyiv. But if the Russians go into Lviv, then another wave of refugees will come.
The Ukrainians who have reached Przemyśl are dispersing across Poland. Some of them are driving cars - they're being picked up by relatives, friends, and strangers who offer them a ride. could drive two children and an adult to Katowice.
- My husband and I came here right away, we want to help- she explains.
But there are also warning notices hanging at the station: in Polish, Ukrainian, and English: "Please beware of private offers. Most people offer their help voluntarily, but there were cases when a supposedly free ride later turned out not to be one". The announcement was put up by city hall employees.
Some Ukrainians are taking trains to other destinations. At the train station, conductors in orange vests print out free tickets - they have terminals in their hands and mobile printers on their shoulders. People are going to Kraków, Warsaw, Bydgoszcz, Szczecin.
Józef, one of the conductors, speaks Ukrainian with them. - I know the language because I come from this part of the country- he explains.
A middle-aged Ukrainian woman wants to get to Łódź. She takes out a Ukrainian passport with a blue cover - she wants to confirm her citizenship. - Put the passport away, I trust you- Józef says and prints out a ticket. Next in line is a Ukrainian man going to Szczecin. He also takes out his passport. – Put it away and don't lose it – Józef tells him.
- How many tickets have you issued today? - we ask.
- I don't know, I don't count them. I print them as long as I don’t run out of paper. And when the paper runs out, I change it and come back. I've been here since 4:00 am. 12 hours on my feet. I’m alright. I'm here every day, I was here yesterday too.
There are also dozens of volunteers. They are busy handing out blankets and sleeping mats, soup, and tea. A little boy gets crisps and orange juice. A little girl is crying - a volunteer runs up to her with a chocolate bar and a teddy bear.
- When I saw these children, I wanted to cry- says a young soldier who is guiding the refugees from the train through a metal mesh.
Janina Biernat from the rural housewife’s association in Łętownia, 6 km from Przemyśl, cooked two kettles of soup with her friends: bean and tomato soup. She pours them into bowls and serves them with buns and bread. Three hours have already passed and the soup is not finished yet. - Maybe we made too much of it? There is a lot of food here, we need to reorganize ourselves- she says. - You know, we are women too, mothers. You just have to help, because you never know what will happen.
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