© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WECS · WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM · WVOF
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ

Donate

Play Live Radio

Next Up:

0:00

0:00 0:00

Available On Air Stations

Ukrainians are fleeing to Poland, but some are returning home for their families

By Claire Harbage

Published March 1, 2022 at 12:14 PM EST

People arrive in Poland who have just crossed the border by bus from Ukraine at the Korczowa-Krakovets crossing.

Thousands of Ukranians and residents of Ukraine are fleeing the country and entering Poland following Russia's invasion last week. Poland has set up several refugee shelters along the border. But some are returning to Ukraine to get to their families or to join the Ukrainian military and fight against Russian forces.

Kseniia Onyshchenko contributed to this report.

A bus brings refugees to a warehouse that's been turned into a shelter.

Polish civil servants, military and volunteers help organize the numerous busloads of people coming across the border from Ukraine and dropping off people who are fleeing the war in the country.

Nadir Fayzullaev from Kyiv sits at a temporary shelter in Poland after recently crossing the border from Ukraine at the Korczowa-Krakovets crossing.

A temporary shelter is set up for people who have recently crossed into Poland by bus from Ukraine near the Korrczowa-Krakovets border crossing.

Olena Karpenko, 37, a mother of three from Sumy, a city in northeastern Ukraine that was hard hit by Russian bombing. Karpenko never imagined the Russians would attack her city. "Now they're bombing everything, including Kyiv and western Ukraine," she says. "They attacking us, everyday Ukrainians."

Karpenko's children play with other kids in the temporary shelter after crossing the border into Poland by bus.

People walk into Poland from Ukraine at the Medyka border crossing.

Oleksand Sashenko, 29, is going back into Ukraine to join the military and fight for Ukraine. He says he's scared, but fear is important to stay safe, and he believe it is time and must return home.

People carry suitcases towards the Medyka border crossing to enter Ukraine from Poland. People are returning to get to their families in Ukraine and also to join the Ukrainian military.

Ihor Kobryn, 52, is proud to be a Ukrainian and is returning to Ukraine tto fight after spending time working as a driver in Poland.

Natalia Belova, 50, returns to Ukraine to get to her children. She hopes to get them and then leave as soon as possible to another EU country.

Sergei Smushko, who is Russian, helps a woman return to Ukraine to get her children. "I'm proud for Ukrainians because they are fighting a war they didn't start. And I think we should help each other and not fight each other. Because it's a bad thing, it should not happen now and in the future. But it's happening and we should do something, that is why I'm here, no questions asked." he says.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Donate