These photos were taken through the windows of the trains taking Ukrainians to safety — and away from their loved ones
It’s been 14 days since Russia’s war against Ukraine began. According to the UN, 2 million people have already left Ukraine — “the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.” Many of them have traveled to Lviv, which has become the main transit point for Ukrainian refugees seeking asylum abroad. These photos, taken at Ukrainian and Polish train stations, show Ukrainian civilians as they leave their homes — and their families — behind.
Pierre Crom / Getty Images An evacuation train headed toward western Ukraine. Kyiv, February 26, 2022Miguel A. Lopez / EPA / Scanpix / LETA A woman and her children leaving Lviv. This shot was taken from a train going the opposite direction — to Lviv from the Polish city of Przemyśl. Many Ukrainians have decided to return to their country to protect their loved ones during the war. Poland, March 4, 2022Emilio Morenatti / AP / Scanpix / LETA 41-year-old Bogdan says goodbye to his wife, Lena, before she leaves for Lviv from a Ukrainian train station. Bogdan will stay to fight in the war while his family tries to leave the country and seek asylum abroad. March 3, 2022Andriy Dubchak / AP / Scanpix / LETA Vlada, Katrin, and Danila look out from the window of an unheated train car that will take them to Lviv. Kyiv, March 3, 2022.Gleb Garanich / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA Children say goodbye to their father. Kyiv, March 3, 2022Chris McGrath / Getty Images A woman in an evacuation train going from Irpin to Kyiv. Two thousand civilians have managed to escape from Irpin, where active hostilities are ongoing. March 4, 2022Sergey Dolzhenko / EPA / Scanpix / LETA Ukrainian refugees leaving Kyiv. March 5, 2022Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP / Scanpix / LETA A train at Kyiv’s central railway station. March 5, 2022Alejandro Martinez Velez / ZUMA Press / Scanpix / LETA Children draw pictures on a train car window at the Lviv train station. Lviv has become the main transit point for refugees on their way to Europe; most are headed to Poland. March 2, 2022Vadim Ghirda / AP / Scanpix / LETA People bid their relatives farewell before leaving for Lviv. Kyiv, March 3, 2022Vadim Ghirda / AP / Scanpix / LETA A woman in a train headed for Lviv. Kyiv, March 3, 2022Emilio Morenatti / AP / Scanpix / LETA Alexander says goodbye to his five-year-old daughter, Anna, who’s about to leave for Lviv. Kyiv, March 4, 2022
