Poignant scenes amid the turmoil of bloodshed as Ukrainian families finally arrive in Poland after fleeing warzone
- Around 660,000 Ukrainians are understood to have fled amid Russian invasion
- Heart-rending scenes unfolded in a tiny station in Przemsyl, Poland, near border
- It’s overwhelmed on a daily basis by thousand of new arrivals queueing for trains
- United Nations is calling it the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War
These were the heart-rending scenes at a small Polish train station this evening as Ukrainian refugees escaped the horrors of Vladimir Putin’s attempt to wipe their country off the map.
The tiny station in Przemysl is more accustomed to passengers who make the short jaunt over the border with Ukraine in ordinary times.
But now it is overwhelmed on a daily basis by thousands looking for a future away from the horrors of war.
Built at the end of the 19th century during the Austrian occupation of this part of Poland, it bustles with refugees from morning to night.
A man waiting for his girlfriend from Ukraine, holds her hand and looks at her through the border fence at the train station in Przemysl
It believes more than 660,000 have now left Ukraine, most heading west across the Polish border to escape the bloodshed.
Ukrainian evacuees Dmytro Stadnyk,36, reunited with his wife Natalia, 27 and son Yegor, 5 at Przemysl Glowny railway station who had just arrived from Ukraine
The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday UKRAINE REFUGEE APPEAL
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Calling upon that human spirit, we are now launching an appeal to raise money for refugees from Ukraine.
For, surely, no one can fail to be moved by the heartbreaking images and stories of families – mostly women, children, the infirm and elderly – fleeing from Russia’s invading armed forces.
As this tally of misery increases over the coming days and months, these innocent victims of a tyrant will require accommodation, schools and medical support.
All donations to the Mail Ukraine Appeal will be distributed to charities and aid organisations providing such essential services.
In the name of charity and compassion, we urge all our readers to give swiftly and generously.
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The mass movement has become what the United Nations is calling the worst refugee crisis since the atrocities of the Second World War.
Queues snake out of the train station as desperate refugees hope to land one of the scarce tickets out of here.
Those who have a seat huddle down with blankets amid the icy temperatures and receive food from local charities. They are the women and children of Ukraine. All men aged between the age of 18 and 60 must stay behind and defend the country.
Lilia Kobylynska, 30, made it here from Kyiv early yesterday with just one bag of possessions and her beloved dog, Sheva.
If the future of Ukraine is uncertain, so is the new life that awaits her. She said: ‘I hope to make it to Germany, but I don’t know where yet. I am worried that I might struggle with the language.’
Moments later, she scrambled onto one of the packed local trains heading to Krakow.
Most refugees want to stay in Poland, having relatives there. Few talk of heading to Britain. Instead they hold out the hope they will one day be able to return home. Ukrainian children, who are fortunate enough not to understand fully what it is happening, played innocently as the train pulled away from the platform.
There is barely room to stand on the four-hour train journey to Poland’s second largest city – home to one of the country’s biggest Ukrainian communities.
Viktoriya Luchka, a 29-year-old mother-of-one, cradles her five-month-old daughter, Kvitoslava, as she boards, hoping to reach Austrian capital Vienna eventually.
She lavishes praise on Britain for helping the Ukrainian army over the past seven years.
She said: ‘The United Kingdom has supplied us with a lot of military equipment and we are really grateful for this.’ Her husband, Mykola, along with her father and brother, have stayed behind in Ukraine. Dmytro Stadnyk, 36, left Ukraine two years ago and has been working in Przemysl as a gym instructor.
His eyes well up as he takes his 29-year-old wife, Natalia, and his five-year-old son into his arms as they arrive from their home city of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘I fear for my country, but I am relieved that my family are now safe here in Poland.’ Ukrainian refugees are waved through passport control as volunteers help distribute food, toys and clothes to those in need.
Ukrainian refugees on the train to Krakow at Przemysl Glowny railway station
A child fleeing Russian invasion of Ukraine is visibly upset as she stands outside a tent at a temporary camp in Przemysl, Poland
Couples who have been kept apart by the violence of the past week embrace each other for the first time since the war broke out.
Waclaw Bojarski, a 52-year-old teacher and scout master, is helping to co-ordinate volunteers helping the influx of people arriving in the border town.
He said: ‘This is our army against Vladimir Putin.’
Mr Borjarski is also helping to send military kit to Ukrainian soldiers with the help of a Polish entrepreneur.
He is trying to raise money to ship them boots and body armour. He told the Mail: ‘They don’t need food. They need flak jackets.’
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