Private Story
THE WAR IS COMING FROM RUSSIA
The war is coming from Russia
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused widespread human suffering and untold physical damage. It has also created the largest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War.
In the first two weeks of the war, more than one million people left Ukraine and most headed to Poland. Cities, towns and villages all along the Polish border became overwhelmed with Ukrainians seeking shelter. And because of the Ukrainian government’s decision to ban adult males from leaving the country, the vast majority of those arriving were women with children.
For the people fleeing the war, there was no escaping the heartbreak of leaving their families and homes behind.
This selection of photographs portrays the initial wave of people who poured into Poland after Feb. 24. They capture the fear and anguish that many of them faced — from the little boy travelling with his mother in a car marked “children” to the loneliness of people waiting in train stations, the fear of African students caught up in the fighting and the tearful farewell of a grandfather who brought his granddaughter to safety in Radymno (Poland) and then returned to Ukraine to be with his wife.
These were the first weeks of harsh decision-making for all those who fled war-torn Ukraine.
In the first two weeks of the war, more than one million people left Ukraine and most headed to Poland. Cities, towns and villages all along the Polish border became overwhelmed with Ukrainians seeking shelter. And because of the Ukrainian government’s decision to ban adult males from leaving the country, the vast majority of those arriving were women with children.
For the people fleeing the war, there was no escaping the heartbreak of leaving their families and homes behind.
This selection of photographs portrays the initial wave of people who poured into Poland after Feb. 24. They capture the fear and anguish that many of them faced — from the little boy travelling with his mother in a car marked “children” to the loneliness of people waiting in train stations, the fear of African students caught up in the fighting and the tearful farewell of a grandfather who brought his granddaughter to safety in Radymno (Poland) and then returned to Ukraine to be with his wife.
These were the first weeks of harsh decision-making for all those who fled war-torn Ukraine.
The photos were taken along the Polish border for The Globe and Mail with correspondent Paul Waldie.
This is ongoing.
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