On February 24, Russia started a war against Ukraine, and millions of people across the country woke up to the sound of missile strikes. The Kremlin called the fighting in Ukraine a “special operation” and said it was targeting military bases. However, the world quickly saw that this was not the case: according to the UN, by the morning of February 27, at least 64 Ukrainian civilians had been killed. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians decided to leave the country to save their lives — the UN cites the figure of 368,000 refugees. They are heading west: to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and other countries. And they have no idea when they will be able to return. Zaborona collected two dozen images that most vividly demonstrate what Ukrainians are facing now in evacuation abroad.
Refugees from Ukraine sit on a bus after crossing the border from Shehyni in Ukraine to Medyka in Poland, which takes them to a temporary shelter. Photo: Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images
Passengers rest on camp beds in a temporary shelter inside a building of the railway station after arriving on a train from Kiev in Ukraine to Przemysl, Poland on February 25, 2022. Photo: Beata Zawrzel / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Civilians arrive in the Medyka region of Poland, on the border with Ukraine, after Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine on February 25, 2022 in Medyka, Poland. Photo: Abdulhamid Hosbas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Hundreds of parked cars from all over Europe are pictured as their owners pick up their relatives at the Polish Ukrainian border on February 25, 2022 in Medyka, Poland. Photo: Omar Marques / Getty Images
An Ukrainian covered with a blanket enjoys a sandwich after crossing the Polish Ukrainian border on February 25, 2022 in Medyka, Poland. Photo: Omar Marques / Getty Images
A Ukrainian cries as she waits for relatives at the Medyka Polish Ukrainian border crossing on February 25, 2022 in Medyka, Poland. Photo: Omar Marques / Getty Images
Ukrainian family seen around free food provided by volunteers after entering Poland. Photo: Dominika Zarzycka / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images
Oksana from Ukraine (r) sits in an emergency shelter in a school in Przemysl after fleeing Ukraine. Photo: Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images
Ukrainian citizens with babies sit in a taxi which will take them to Warsaw after crossing Ukrainian-Polish border crossing in Medyka due to ongoing Russian military intervention in Ukraine, in Przemysl, Poland on February 25, 2022 Photo: Beata Zawrzel / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Ukrainian refugees take free food and drinks offered by Slovak volunteers after they crossed the border in Vysne Nemecke, eastern Slovakia, on February 26, 2022. The UN said more than 50,000 Ukrainians had fled the country in the past two days, calling for “safe unimpeded access” for aid operations. Streams of people in cars and on foot were seen crossing into Hungary, Poland and Romania. Photo: PETER LAZAR / AFP via Getty Images
Volunteers offer free transport for Ukrainian refugees at a border crossing in Vysne Nemecke, eastern Slovakia, on February 26, 2022 Photo: PETER LAZAR / AFP via Getty Images
People wait for a train to Poland at the railway station of the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on February 26, 2022. Photo: YURIY DYACHYSHYN / AFP via Getty Images
Refugees from Ukraine wait for their onward transport after crossing the border from Shehyni in Ukraine to Medyka in Poland. Volunteers have provided food, clothing and all other necessities of life for the refugees. Many Ukrainians are leaving the country after military actions by Russia on Ukrainian territory. Photo: Michael Kappeler / picture alliance via Getty Images
Refugees from Ukraine, after crossing the border from Shehyni in Ukraine to Medyka in Poland, look for suitable clothes provided by Polish citizens in the Polish border area. Photo: Michael Kappeler / picture alliance via Getty Images
Hundreds of people arrive to the train station after crossing the border at Zahony-Csap as they flee Ukraine on February 27, 2022 in Zahony, Hungary. Photo: Michael Kappeler / picture alliance via Getty Images
People wait at the train station after border crossing at Zahony-Csap as they flee Ukraine on February 26, 2022 in ZAHONY, Hungary. Photo: Janos Kummer / Getty Images
Displaced Ukrainians on the Orlivka — Isaccea ferry line cross the Danube River en route to the Isaccea Border Crossing in Isaccea, Romania. In Romania, locals are also offering shelter, food and medicine. Photo: Andrei Pungovschi / Bloomberg via Getty Images
A displaced child from Ukraine boards a ferry to Romania at Orlivka village in Odesa Region, Ukraine on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022. Photo: Andrei Pungovschi / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Ukrainian residents rest at the Beregsurany border crossing in Beregsurany, Hungary, on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Photo: Akos Stiller / Bloomberg via Getty Images
