More than 3.9 million Ukrainians, including half of the nation’s children, have fled the country since Russia’s invasion began on February 24, according to the latest UN figures. Direct Relief has responded to the war in Ukraine and the refugee crisis in neighboring countries with more than 164 tons of medical aid, and traveled to the Poland-Ukraine border, and to Lviv, to document the situation from March 4 to March 16.
At Medyka, a Polish town near the border with Ukraine, Ukrainian refugees waited in line in March 2022 for a bus to take them to Przemyśl, a town in Poland acting as a main point of reception for Ukrainian refugees. As more Ukrainians return back to the country, health needs are high with medical facilities under strain. (Photo by Oscar Castillo for Direct Relief)
A woman takes a bus transporting refugees from Medyka to Przemyśl, a Polish town functioning as a main point of reception for Ukrainian refugees.
A refugee child receives a teddy bear while waiting in line in Medyka after crossing the border into Poland.
E.P., 16 , from the heavily bombarded area of Kharkiv, boards a bus at the Poland-Ukrainian border together with his family.
A mother plays with and puts a cover on her son on the way between Medyka and Przemyśl in Poland. The war in Ukraine forced many to flee to neighboring countries, and Direct Relief has worked to support Ukrainian refugees this year, as well as strengthening the health system of Ukraine itself. (Photo by Oscar Castillo for Direct Relief)
M, a woman from the Roma community in eastern Ukraine, cries while telling how Russian bombs were falling from the sky.
At Medyka, on Poland’s border with Ukraine, Ukrainian refugees wait in line for a bus to take them to Przemyśl, a town in Poland acting as the main point of reception for Ukrainian refugees.
Refugees warm themselves with fire while waiting for transportation to Przemyśl.
A young Ukrainian child runs and plays while waiting in line with his parents at the Przemyśl train station to go back to Ukraine. The family was on holiday in Egypt when the war erupted.
L., 6, shows a drawing she made of herself and her parents. She and her mother were on their way back to Ukraine.
A.K. sits on a train to Lviv. She has not received any news for many days from her son and her family in the besieged city of Mariupol, where people have been under heavy fire attacks, and without access to water, electricity, food, and communications.
Young children and relatives are seen on a train transporting refugees to Poland.
At the train station in Lviv, civil volunteers organize and distribute food and aid for refugees arriving to this main city in western Ukraine.
Men help a woman to cross some water ponds while Ukrainian refugees wait for transportation to different destinations inside and out of the country.
General view of the train station in Lviv, a major city in Western Ukraine and the center of reception for refugees looking to leave the country towards other areas in Europe.
Thousands of refugees wait, under snowfall, to board trains at Lviv-Holovnyi railway station in March, 2022. (Photo by Oscar Castillo for Direct Relief)
Davide Martello, a German piano player is seen playing and singing together with a refugee at Lviv-Holovnyi railway station.
Civil volunteers cook in a big soup kitchen at Lviv-Holovnyi railway station.
A human chain of local civil volunteers, policemen, and foreign helpers is seen passing boxes, bags, and packs of humanitarian aid being sent from Lviv to different areas in eastern Ukraine that have been heavily affected by the attack from Russian forces.
Ambulance drivers and first aid responders take shelter at an undisclosed location while the air raid alarms sound.
