Heartbreaking truth behind prams abandoned at Polish train station as mums leave pushchairs for Ukrainian refugee kids
KINDHEARTED Polish mothers and members of support groups have been leaving prams and other baby supplies at train stations for desperate women and children fleeing the war in Ukraine.
A picture of a row of prams at a train station in Przemysl, south-eastern Poland, went viral as the full scale of the refugee crisis in Ukraine became clear.
Other photos show prams filled with teddy bears for the children coming into Poland.
More than two million Ukrainians are believed to have fled their homes since the Russian invasion began on February 24.
At least half of those have fled to Poland, according to the Polish Press Agency, which tweeted on Monday: "Traffic on the Polish-Ukrainian border is growing... Today at 7am, 42,000 people arrived in Poland from Ukraine."
Hundreds of thousands have made their way to other neighbouring countries including Moldova, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia.
Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has created a hotline for travellers giving help and advice to those desperately trying to cross the border.
The photo snapped in a Polish border town was taken by snapper Francesco Malavolta.
He told Fox News Digital he took the picture "at the Przemysl train station, where some Polish mothers and [groups] leave strollers for Ukrainian mothers arriving with newborns".
Francesco said he spoke to one of the women who left a pram at the station.
Most read in US News
"I spoke to one of them saying she was happy to have left her stroller and some clothes at the nearby school out of solidarity with the incoming people from Ukraine," he told TODAY.
He went on: "The arriving women had left their strollers in Ukraine to speed up the journey and because many of (the women) were travelling without husbands because they remained fighting."
Another of his pictures taken in the town of Vysne, Slovakia, close to the border with Ukraine, also shows a row of prams and blankets laid out for mothers and their infants arriving from the war.
Francesco also took a snap of a mother with her young children shortly after leaving her husband behind in Ukraine.
In the immediate aftermath of the Russian invasion, Ukraine's government passed new conscription laws banning all men between the ages of 18 to 60 from leaving the country.
The powerful images spread quickly on social media, with one Twitter user writing: "After all the terrible things we've been seeing this just broke me."
Another replied, "Humans can be so good, can't they?"
It comes as...
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed the 'kill ever b*****d' who was shooting and shelling Ukrainian civilians
- Zelenskyy is due to address British MPs today from his bunker as he remains defiant in Kyiv
- Peace talks continue after Russian issued three demands in an ultimatum - which were rejected by Ukraine
- Vladimir Putin has lost yet another general as his troops are reported to have been deserting from the invasion force
- Pictures show abandoned 'Z' tanks and burning Russian trucks as the Russia's costly, grinding advance continues
- Civilians are facing a perilous journey to escape Ukraine - including one boy, 11, who travelled 750 miles on his own
- Brit ex-soldiers are heading to the frontline as they vow to help fight back against Russia
Francesco said he had been covering the refugee crisis in Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary for the past 10 days.
He said he was struck by how quiet the station was, compared to the mass of humanity just a couple of miles away in Ukraine.
"While two meters away there were miles of people," he said. "It seemed surreal. I thought of them both... about the solidarity of those who brought the strollers and the dramatic stories of mothers fleeing the war."
It comes as an 11-year-old refugee boy left his parents in Ukraine and travelled 600 miles on his own.
The little boy had just a phone number written on his hand after fleeing his home in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia and crossed the border to Slovakia alone.
🔵 Read our Russia - Ukraine live blog for the very latest updates
Slovakian authorities have praised the boy for his bravery and said that he only had a backpack, a plastic bag, a passport, and a phone number written on his hand.
They added that volunteers looked after the boy and gave him food and drinks.
"He gained all of them with his smile, fearlessness and determination, worthy of a true hero," the Slovak Ministry of Interior said in a statement.
The statement, posted on the ministry’s Facebook page said that thanks to the phone number on the boy's hand and a piece of paper in his passport, staff were able to contact his relatives in Slovakia who picked him up later.
Humans can be so good, can't they?
Twitter user
Packed trains have been seen heading towards Ukraine's border for weeks, with long traffic queues snaking out of the country's border crossings.
Refugees have been told they don't need to bring any documents but should have their internal or foreign passports, birth certificates of children travelling with them, and medical documentation.
To get refugee status, they will need to be Ukrainian citizens or people living legally in Ukraine such as foreign students.
In countries bordering Ukraine, refugees without friends or relatives to stay with can sleep in reception centres where they are given food and medical care.
The UN's high commissioner for refugees Filippo Grandi has praised the "extraordinary" community response in Poland since the crisis began.
But he admitted it is a "logistical nightmare" with millions more expected to cross the border.
Francesco added: "There is a strong feeling of solidarity. There should always be and for everyone, regardless of the starting points of the most fragile."
All you need to know about Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Everything you need to know about Russia's invasion of Ukraine...
- Why is Russia invading Ukraine?
- Will the UK go to war?
- How can I join the Ukraine foreign legion?
- What can I do to help Ukraine?
- Who is Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy?
- How much gas does the UK get from Russia?
- Is Russia a part of Nato?
- Does Russia have nuclear weapons?
- Why is Ukraine not in Nato?
- How big is the Russian army?
- What is Article 5 of the Nato treaty?
- What is the Minsk agreement?
- Which countries were in the Soviet Union?
- What does the Z mean on Russian tanks? Meaning behind symbols explained
Polskie Radio, Poland's national public-service radio broadcasting organisation, reported that "Przemysl is one of the first places they [refugees] stop. Recently many people have come to us from Odesa, the next train will come from Lviv - says Janusz Lukasiewicz, station commander on Polish Radio 1.
"Some people have joy in their eyes that they managed to escape, others with sadness - and a great longing for those who stayed in the country - are waiting for what will happen next - he adds.
"In Przemysl, the humanitarian aid centre operates in the building of the former shopping centre.
"Hundreds of people from Ukraine come here every day, mainly women and children.
Read More on The US Sun
"In the centre, there are accommodation places, medical points and a pharmacy. From the adjoining car park, among others, buses depart, both inland and abroad.
"Refugees get a warm meal, the most necessary things and a place where they can rest before their onward journey."
Help those fleeing conflict with The Sun’s Ukraine Fund
PICTURES of women and children fleeing the horror of Ukraine’s devastated towns and cities have moved Sun readers to tears.
Many of you want to help the five million caught in the chaos — and now you can, by donating to The Sun's Ukraine Fund.
Give as little as £3 or as much as you can afford and every penny will be donated to the Red Cross on the ground helping women, children, the old, the infirm and the wounded.
Donate here to help The Sun's fund
Or text to 70141 from UK mobiles
£3 — text SUN£3
£5 — text SUN£5
£10 — text SUN£10
Texts cost your chosen donation amount (e.g. £5) +1 standard message (we receive 100%). For full T&Cs visit redcross.org.uk/mobile
The Ukraine Crisis Appeal will support people in areas currently affected and those potentially affected in the future by the crisis.
In the unlikely event that the British Red Cross raise more money than can be reasonably and efficiently spent, any surplus funds will be used to help them prepare for and respond to other humanitarian disasters anywhere in the world.
For more information visit https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/disaster-fund