Spirit of Blitz in Lviv near Ukraine-Poland border as thousands flee
Spirit of the Blitz in Lviv near Ukraine-Poland border as thousands of refugees from all over the country flee air strikes and Russian forces – with families ripped apart and fathers forced to say goodbye to children
- Total chaos reigned Sunday at the teeming Lviv railway station, west Ukraine, less than 50 miles from Poland
- Thousands of Ukrainians fleeing Russian forces flooded into the city in a bid to catch trains out of the country
- A wave of people scrambled to get to the platforms, some even wheeling their suitcases across the tracks
These were the distressing scenes in Lviv, Ukraine today, reminiscent of London’s evacuation during the Blitz.
Total chaos reigned at the teeming railway station, less than 50 miles from Poland, when thousands of refugees fleeing Russian forces and airstrikes flooded into the city from all over Ukraine.
A wave of people scrambled to get to the platforms, some even wheeling their suitcases across the tracks.
There were heart-wrenching sights as families were forced to part, with fathers waving a tearful goodbye to their wives and children, then returning to fight the Russians in Ukraine’s desperate defence.
Scuffles and fighting erupted in the densely-packed ticket hall as seats on all services leaving the war zone soon sold out.
Even as air raid sirens blared out across the city, the refugees kept on coming.
Thousands of Refugees at Lviv Station in western Ukraine on Sunday, where they’ve arrived from all over the country and are desperately trying to get onto trains to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania
A teenage girl is consoled by a family member as she breaks down in tears Lviv station, western Ukraine, after fleeing her home due to the ongoing Russian invasion
A stream of refugees flocked to Lviv station in western Ukraine on Sunday (pictured) in a bid to escape Vladimir Putin’s forces
A group of young children wave to loved ones as their train pulls away from Lviv station in western Ukraine on Sunday
Boy looks through window and waves after boarding a train out of Ukraine at Lviv station on Sunday
Scuffles and fights broke out in the densely packed Lviv station (pictured) as scores of Ukrainians attempted to get trains out of the country
A baby in a bauble hat cries while waiting for a train at Lviv station, western Ukraine, as families queued in their thousands to flee Ukraine
A baby fleeing Ukraine at Lviv train station in western Ukraine on Sunday is consoled by a family member as a tears fall down their face
Father and son appear to share an emotional goodbye during boarding of a train at Lviv railway station in western Ukraine on Sunday
Father gives his son a hug and kiss goodbye at Lviv railway station in western Ukraine on Sunday
A young boy smiles into the camera while holding a teddy bear as he waits for a train to take he and his family out of Ukraine at Lviv station on Sunday
Two young girls pose for a photo while wrapped up warm outside Lviv train station in western Ukraine, where thousands of refugees flocked on Sunday in a bid to get out of the country amid the Russian invasion
Woman (right) holds her chihuahua inside her jacket while another hugs her own jacket-wearing pooch while waiting for a train at Lviv station
Even as air raid sirens blared out across the city Lviv on Sunday, the refugees kept on coming to the train station
Hundreds of Ukrainian refugees wait on the tracks at Lviv train station on Sunday after fleeing Russian forces
Grandad Alex Myronov said a tearful goodbye to his son Max, 17, and only grandchild – six-month-old Daniel.
Max, who studied English at school, said: ‘My brother Michael, Daniel’s father, was already working in Germany when the invasion happened.
‘The family have decided that I should go over with the baby and his mum.
‘She’s inside trying to get rail tickets. But it’s crazy in the ticket office. Because I’m under 18 I’m allowed to go.’
Alex said: ‘It’s very sad to see my only grandchild and sons being out if Ukraine but it’s the right thing to do. I can’t wait for them to return.’
Bohdan Komarets, 47, from Chervonoarmiysk, had brought his daughter Misha, 23,
He wants her to seek refuge with relatives in Poland until the situation settles
Bohdan, a power plant worker, said: ‘I want to make sure she is safe. That’s all that matters to me. I need to know she is out of danger.
‘Hopefully this won’t be too much longer. It took us over two hours to get her a ticket.’
Miliena Zaschitnikova, 21, arrived at the station with four-year-old son Max and her mother Inna after her husband Andrei joined soldiers battling Russia.
But after boarding a packed overnight train to Lviv from Zhytomyr, west of capital Kyiv, they found to their dismay that all international train services sold out.
Like thousands of others they were left huddling together outside the station in sub-zero temperatures.
Miilena told MailOnline: ‘We hoped we would be able to get a train from here to the Czech Republic but there are no tickets – and we’re stuck in this chaos.
‘I bought my little boy a toy train for the journey – but that’s the only train he’s going to get today and we have nowhere to stay tonight and no way to escape the war.
Thousands flocked to Lviv train station (pictured) on Sunday in a bid to flee Ukraine and Russia’s invading forces
Thousands have been left huddling together outside the station in sub-zero temperatures after many trains sold out at Lviv train station
A young child sits on a suitcase while waiting for a train out of Ukraine at Lviv railway station on Sunday
A father holds onto his young child amid the chaos at Lviv railway station on Sunday
Ukrainian refugees huddle in a stairwell at Lviv station on Sunday as they wait for trains out of the country
A wave of people scrambled to get to the platforms at Lviv station on Sunday, with some even wheeling their suitcases across the tracks
A young girl donning a wool hat and face mask sits on the ground at Lviv station while waiting to catch a train to western Europe with her family
Streams of refugees kept arriving to Lviv station on Sunday, only to find many of the trains for the day were sold out
Refugees carrying pets and suitcases run across the tracks at Lviv station in western Ukraine on Sunday
Ukrainians at Lviv station described the situation as a ‘nightmare’ as they attempted to get trains out of the country
Families are facing having to stay overnight in sub-zero temperatures as there are not enough trains to carry them all
‘Max’s father has gone to fight the Russians and I promised him we would get our little boy to safety, but I’ve no idea how I’ll do it.
‘We are trying to smile and keep my little boy happy because he’s too young to understand what we’re going through.
‘Like thousands of other people here, we’re living through a nightmare made by Vladimir Putin.’
Tania Yokovchuck, 30, was also stranded outside the station with no hope of escape yesterday as she struggled to comfort her crying two year-old son Karar.
She said: ‘We arrived here hoping to escape but it’s turned into a dead end – it’s impossible to get train tickets.
‘And now I don’t know what to do or where to go and are desperate to find somewhere to sleep.
‘No one here knows how this will end.’
Grandmother Marrietta Sakova, 76, who fled in fear from fighting in the eastern city of Dnipro told MailOnline: ‘There are no train tickets, no petrol for a car – even if we had one and soon we will run out of money to buy food.
‘We are desperate to get away from here but there’s just no way out.’
Another matriarch, Svetlana, 73, fought back tears as she held her five-year-old grandson David close after learning they were stranded with no tickets available on any route out of the war zone.
She said: ‘I’ve no idea what we’re going to do.
‘I’m trying to meet my daughter and get us all to Poland but there are no trains and like nearly everyone else here, we have nowhere to stay tonight.’
‘All we want to do is get David away from the fighting but we’re trapped.’
Anna Yavorska, 25, fled from Kyiv after being asked to take niece Dasha, five, to safety.
She said: ‘The sound of bombs was terrifying and I realised very quickly that this was no place for a child.
‘I told Dasha’s mother I would get her out to Poland away from the Russians but having got this far, we’re stuck.
‘There are no trains into Europe with space and we’ve nowhere to stay tonight so I’ve no choice but to keep fighting to get a ticket as soon as one becomes available.
‘No one would have dreamed this could be happening even a week ago. How has it come to this?’
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