It took Alona two days to get from Poltava in central-eastern part of Ukraine to Poland. She is one of the thousands of refugees who crossed the border in Hrebenne, fleeing from Russian invasion. She has under her care ten children of Ukrainian police officers who have stayed in Ukraine.
"I packed myself in 40 minutes after deciding to flee. The first time I thought about leaving Ukraine was when Russian military started to drop bombs - first in Okhtyrka, and then in Kharkiv," said Alona, a resident of Poltava.
Journey to the Polish border took her two days. She first travelled by car, and then by train to Lviv. "It was impossible to get out of Poltava by trains because there were crowds of people everywhere, plenty of women with children, but people supported each other incredibly, they were sharing food," the woman said. She has a buiscuit-coloured dog with her named Lucky, and a 10-strong group of children of Ukrainian police officers who have stayed to fight the Russians.
Alyona waits at the reception point
Alona says that in Poltava it was much more peaceful than in other regions, adding that many cities have been ruined, but still actively fighting.
She crossed the border in Hrebenne, and found herself in a reception point for refugees from Ukraine in Lubycz Królewska, located some 7 kilometres from the border station.
The reception point has been set up in a primary school. Around 5,000 people from Ukraine have gone through it so far, of which about 15% have been referred to places of accomodation across Poland.
Hundreds of thousands Ukrainians came to Poland
Next to the entrance to the sports hall, an 85-year-old woman named Nina from Trostianets in western Ukraine sits in a chair, dressed in a claret coat and a kerchief on her head. Asked how she feels, she asnwers quietly: "Good" - and gives a thumbs-up signal.
Together with her daughter Anna, she is waiting for transport to Poznań, where they have found accomodation. "I hope I'll return to Ukraine. I've spent 60 years there and I can't imagine any other scenario," the woman says. "In Ukraine I used to give manicure. My work equipment was the first thing I packed," Anna adds with a smile.
Since the start of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, border stations in Lubelskie Voivodeship have been crossed by some 340,000 people from Ukraine.
As of Friday (March 4) a total of over 700,000 war refugees from Ukraine have crossed Polish borders.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP