Tens of thousands of Ukrainians, mostly women and children, crossed into
Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia on Friday (24/2/2022) when Russian
missiles hit the capital Kyiv and men of any age group could fight. asked to
stay and fight.
Reporting Reuters, many residents who waited hours in freezing conditions to
leave Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion.
Iryna, 36, and her mother departed Kyiv on Thursday with their two
daughters, aged 2 and 4, before crossing to Ubla in Slovakia.
"We left my husband there, so he's still there supporting our government,"
she said Friday at a hotel in the border town of Snina. "We are praying for
Ukraine and I hope everything will be fine," he said.
In Poland, which has Ukraine's largest community of about 1 million people,
authorities say waiting times to cross the border range from 6 hours - 12
hours in some places.
In Medyka in southern Poland, about 85 km (52 miles) from Lviv in western
Ukraine, streets were full of cars, police controlled traffic, and people
hugged loved ones after they arrived on the Polish side. An internet map
site shows a third of the roads congested with heavy traffic.
Ukrainian rules limit men aged 18-60, who can be drafted into the military,
from crossing the border.
Marta Buach, 30, from Lviv, said her husband was not allowed to cross with
her. "In Lviv it's okay but in other cities it's really a disaster. Kyiv is
being bombed, other small towns are being bombed, we hear bombings
everywhere," he said.
"I think it's only a matter of time for it to become as dangerous as other
cities," he said.
UN aid agencies say the war could drive up to five million people to flee
abroad. They say fuel, cash and medical supplies are running low in parts of
Ukraine.
Border authorities said 29,000 people had entered Poland from Ukraine as of
Thursday, and about half indicated they had fled the war. In Romania, more
than 10,000 Ukrainians arrived on Thursday, and nearly 3,000 in Slovakia.
Poland's Deputy Interior Minister Paweł Szefernaker said Ukrainian bus
drivers were unable to drive across the border because men of military age
were detained in Ukraine.
Michał Mielniczuk, spokesman for the Podkarpackie region of southern Poland,
said temporary accommodation was offered to people arriving.
"Most proceeded to other places across Poland after receiving warm food," he
told the PAP news agency.
Blood and Food Donation
On the border with northern Romania, women wept as they bid farewell to
loved ones, leaving to cross to Sighetu Marmatiei, a remote town on the
banks of the Tisa river, a Reuters witness said.
Long lines have formed as cars wait to take the ferry over the Danube river
to Isaccea, a city between Moldova and the Black Sea, local media in Romania
showed.
Slovak authorities urged people to donate blood and set up a 5,380-bed
hospital dedicated to soldiers or NATO.
Across central Europe, on the eastern side of NATO, volunteers posted
messages on social media to arrange housing and transportation for people
arriving from the border.
Activists are setting up hot food and drink distribution points and vets are
offering to treat pets.
Authorities in Poland and Romania lifted pandemic quarantine rules for those
arriving from outside the European Union and, starting Friday, Ukrainian
citizens can get COVID-19 vaccinations in Poland.
Hungary said it would open humanitarian corridors for citizens from
third-party countries such as Iran or India who fled Ukraine, let them enter
without a visa and take them to the nearest airport in Debrecen.
At its border crossings, Ukrainian cars lined three to five km long.
Bulgaria has started issuing passports to its citizens in Kyiv who need
travel documents and has sent four buses to the Ukrainian capital to
evacuate people.
Three buses, which evacuated some 130 Bulgarians, will leave Odessa on
Friday, a foreign ministry spokesman said. About 250,000 ethnic Bulgarians
live in Ukraine.