Shortly after the first shots were fired on Ukraine during what Russian President Vladimir Putin called “special military operations” on Feb. 24, Ukrainians began fleeing from the front lines and flooded toward the border nations of Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia, and Romania.
The vast majority of Ukrainians evacuating are women and children because of the implementation of martial law, which specifies that Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are restricted from leaving the country until further notice.
In response to the escalating crisis, UN Secretary-General António Guterres released $20 million in emergency funding for Ukraine last week. Additionally, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said the organization would cooperate with Ukraine border nations, and pleaded for those countries to keep their frontiers open.
“We stand ready to support efforts by all to respond to any situation of forced displacement,” Grandi said.
Not Standing Idly By
The office of Poland’s prime minister also established a special government website on Feb. 27 aimed at streamlining aid and resources offered to Ukrainians who are displaced because of the conflict.The Polish government is offering Ukrainian asylum-seekers free travel on some intercity metro trains, transfer services, basic medical care, and shelter.
Meanwhile, Hungarians have mounted a community-driven aid response to the refugee crisis.
Since Feb. 26, the Budapest Bike Mafia and Age of Hope Foundation are among dozens of organizations collaborating to ship donations such as food, medicine, clothing, hygiene products, and blankets from across the country to Hungary’s borders with Ukraine at Záhony and Tiszabecs. Lines of refugees up to 12 miles long were reported at Tiszabecs on the Hungary–Ukraine border on Feb. 27.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said the war in Ukraine is shaping up to be “one of the biggest humanitarian emergencies in Europe for years to come.”
Red Cross centers in Croatia, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Slovakia mobilized teams to help people arriving from Ukraine. Temporary shelters have been established at border crossings, and volunteers are distributing food, water, bedding, clothes, cellphone SIM cards, and sanitary essentials on both sides of the frontier. The shelters also offer medical and psychological support.
Leaving Kyiv
Nataliia Sidanich, a scientist, Maksym Sidanich, an IT program manager, and their 12-year-old daughter, Margo, learned of the war in a phone call from Nataliia’s parents, who also live in Kyiv, on the morning of Feb. 24.“We were completely confused,“ Nataliia Sidanich told The Epoch Times. ”It was hard to believe, even in our worst nightmares. Unfortunately, the nightmares came true. We’ve been living in this nightmare for six days now.”
The family had to decide whether to stay and find a way to protect their property or to flee to save their lives.
“Property is nice, but life is our biggest possession, so we decided to leave our hometown,” she said.
When the family departed Kyiv on Feb. 24, everyone they encountered didn’t believe that war was upon them. Up until lunchtime that day, everything seemed the same, even though Russian tanks had rolled into Ukraine the night before. Things changed quickly that afternoon as traffic snarled roads leading out of the city to the west and south, away from Russia.
The Sidanich family drove 745 miles west in one stretch to a hotel in Vorohta in the Ivano-Frankivsk region in Western Ukraine.
“The most important thing is that I am safe now, and together with my parents,” Margo Sidanich, 12, told The Epoch Times.
Nataliia’s parents stayed in Kyiv for two more nights, hiding in the basement of their building. They then decided to flee as well.
Many of Nataliia’s friends stayed behind, including families with small children. Maksym Sidanich’s parents are still on the outskirts of Kyiv. His mother, who is 60, stayed put due to what Maksym called the “Ukrainian principle.” She agree to call every three hours, after a nerve-wracking day when the family was unable to reach her for 11 hours.
“Our assumption was that this would be over in a few days, but Ukraine is standing its ground. Even here in the west, every man is armed. They patrol the area at night,” Maksym Sidanich said.
“We don’t want to thank the enemy, but they brought Ukraine together like never before,” Nataliia Sidanich said. “We won’t give up.”
The family plans to stay put and is waiting to hear news of the Ukrainian forces’ first victory and of peace talks. If Russian forces make their way to Western Ukraine, Maksym Sidanich said he'll join the local militia to defend his family.
“We have no other option. We are not leaving the country,” he said.
People are streaming into the area where the family is staying from all parts of Ukraine. Some people come to stay, while others just pause on their way to the border. Sidanich has seen buses full of children sent west by parents who didn’t want the young ones to spend their days in basements and bunkers.
“Unfortunately, we aren’t seeing any cars from eastern parts of the country. They are already unable to make it here,” he said. “The bridges are blocked.”
Daily necessities are already out of stock both in Kyiv and in the west, Nataliia said. But while she couldn’t find shampoo or toothpaste, families elsewhere are facing a harsher reality. Nataliia’s friends, a family of eight in Kharkiv, are living in a basement without heat, water, or electricity with a 1-year-old who has fallen sick.
“Every time I dial them, my heart skips a beat. Every time, I’m afraid there won’t be an answer, that I'll hear nothing but silence.”
