Humanitarian crisis growing as UN reports more than 500,000 have fled Ukraine
WASHINGTON (TND) — Amidst the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, more than half a million refugees have fled the country to neighboring countries, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.
Border crossings are packed with long lines of cars and buses backed up at checkpoints and there's a constant flow at train stations. Others are crossing on foot, bringing only a suitcase with them to a new country.
About 280,000 Ukrainians have fled into neighboring Poland, 94,000 to Hungary, 30,000 to Slovakia and 34,000 to Romania. As the humanitarian crisis grows, many are working around the clock and risking their own safety to help refugees escape violence.
"It’s an active war zone in the opening days of a war,” said Bryan Stern with Project Dynamo.
Stern was sitting in a dark room in Kyiv Monday. He says keeping the lights off is necessary to stay alive.
"It’s not a pleasant experience. Nobody woke up and wanted to be a refugee. Nobody woke up and wanted to be subject to the violence of Vladimir Putin’s lunacy," Stern said.
His Project Dynamo team is on the ground in Ukraine's capital city, rescuing both American and Ukrainian citizens who are seeking safety in a bordering country.
"I woke up on Saturday and the bridges around Kyiv were intact. Today, on Monday, every bridge was blown up. So, it changes the whole thing. How do I get a bus into a city with no bridges? More importantly, how do I get a bus out of a city with no bridges?" Stern said.
More than 500,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled to neighboring countries since the start of the Russian invasion.
Gut-wrenching images show families huddled together in train stations and on roads out in the cold, clinging to what few belongings they could quickly pack into a single suitcase. A UN official says fuel, cash and medical supplies are dwindling.
“On the borders, they need water. The border towns on the Ukrainian side don’t have water. The stores are completely out and there are wait times of above 30 hours,” American ex-pat James Joeriman told The National Desk.
Joeriman is president of the Lviv International Rotary Club. He evacuated his family to Poland just days before the invasion. Now, he and other rotary members are now coordinating places to stay for refugees.
"When we do hear of these stories, as best as we can, we try to connect the families that are fleeing with the families here that are here welcoming them, opening their homes to them,” Joeriman said.
UN officials believe the humanitarian crisis will only get worse from here, saying the war could drive up to 5 million people out of Ukraine.
