They return to their husbands and fathers because Ukraine is their home

Everyday, trains bound for Lviv and Odessa depart from Przemyśl Main railway station. According to Deputy Mayor of Przemyśl Bogusław Świeży, each train is boarded by 200 people on average. Some of them are volunteers who want to fight against the Russians. But many of the passengers are women with children who no longer want to be refugees. One such person is Lyuba who comes from Ternopil. She was returning home with her two children aged 9 and 13. They came to Poland right after the war broke out and spent the last four weeks in Rzeszów. Back home, Lyuba and her husband run a car parts shop.

Lyuba says she has decided to return home because her whole family is there. "If they were shooting in our region or destroyed our house, I wouldn't be coming back, but there is hope it will end soon. Besides, it's a whole different story when you have friends abroad, and I have no one there, so it's more difficult to get by," the woman said.

A 39-year-old woman named Iryna and her son were also waiting for a train at platform 5. She said they were returning to Bila Tserkva in central Ukraine. She spent the last few weeks at her brother's place in Poland. "We wanted to wait and see what would happen there. Where I live is rather peaceful. It is quite frightening to return to Ukraine, but I have my work and apartment there. I'm a nurse, I work in an ambulance. I also return to help there on the spot," the woman added.

Around 100 passengers were waiting for a train to Odessa. Most of them were mother with children, but there were also men from other countries who volunteered to go and fight in Ukraine. They did not want discuss details of their trip due to security reasons.

In the middle of the crowd waiting for the train was 25-year-old Tatyana, who held a sleeping baby in her arms. She spent three weeks in Poland. "We're going back to Zaporizhia. It's dangerous there, you can see missiles flying. We are afraid, but it's our home. When I was fleeing, I thought it would be only for a short while; that we would soon return. Unfortunately, the war won't end, so I'd rather be together with my hisband and family there," she added.

Among the people going back to Ukraine there are also those who want to bury their relatives who were killed in the invasion. One of such people is Oksana from Łódź. Originally from Zhytomyr, the woman and her son found shelter at some people's apartment in Bałuty district. She left her children in Poland and decided to return when she was informed that her mother had died.

Some refugees return to Ukraine only to pick up their belongings. Like Kiril from Łódź, who had a recently purchased car at a friends allotment, but fled Ukraine with his family in a different car. Under the pressing circumstances of having to build a new life in Poland, the vehicle was a very valuable commodity. After a few weeks, he has finally managed to bring the undamaged car to Poland. "I wanted to help to bring my some of my friends to Poland, but none of them wanted to leave Ukraine anymore," Kiril said.

According to the Polish Border Guard, approx. 285,000 people have returned from Poland to Ukraine since the first day of the war. Wednesday (March 23) was the 28th day of the Russian invasion on Ukraine.