‘Innocents of war’ sleep on camp beds in -7C after fleeing Russian invasion of Ukraine – World News

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The Mirror visits an official government reception centre in Medyka, Poland, set up to welcome Ukrainian refugees who were forced to flee their country due to the Russian invasion

A woman fleeing Russian invasion of Ukraine hugs a child at a temporary camp in Przemysl, Poland (

Image: REUTERS)

Here are the innocents of war – little children waiting patiently on camp beds at an official government reception centre in Medyka, Poland, after fleeing their homeland. Some 100,000 people arrived into the country from Ukraine today alone, taking the total to have crossed the shared 332-mile border to nearly 350,000.

And it was tonight believed more than 100,000 more have also fled into neighbouring countries, taking the overall figure to around half a million – a number confirmed by the UN Refugee Agency.

The incredible surge has prompted the Polish government to set up eight reception centres as well as pop-up distribution hubs, including one in the car park of what was formerly a Tesco superstore.

I visited it this morning and witnessed hundreds of refugees – including babies and very young children – being provided with vital supplies, including medicine, clothes, nappies and even pushchairs.

Refugees were also being handed care packages by the Polish Red Cross, including food, cosmetics, toys and even teddy bears.

Volunteers at the site, across the road from a McDonald’s drive-thru, could also be seen organising bus transport to free accommodation.

And refugees were gratefully accepting hot drinks to help them battle plunging temperatures which had dropped to minus seven overnight. Among them was 42-year-old mum-of-three Irina, who left her home near Lviv with her four-year-old daughter Daria and 15-year-old son Yaroslav on Sunday morning before spending the night sleeping on the floor of a nearby beauty salon.

Summing up the feelings of many here, she appeared moved as she said: “I wasn’t expecting so much help. I thought Ukraine was alone, but I can see now we are not.”

Also with Irina’s family was Yaroslav’s best friend Vlas, a 15-year-old army cadet, whose own mum sent him with the family to safety as she needed to stay due to her job in the military. Irina’s other son Alex, 23, also had to stay behind as he is a soldier in the army.

But showing her strong maternal instinct, she expressed not just her worry for him, but also for enemy Russian troops.

And in a moment universal to mother’s everywhere, she also admonished teenager Yaroslav after he described Russian leader Vladimir Putin as a “p***k”.

She said: “I’m very worried for Alex. He is helping defend the country. One of his friends has already been killed and I am worried for all of our young soldiers. But not just ours, also Russia ’s. They just do as instructed.”

Before leaving, I carried on chatting to Yaroslav, who was keen to speak about Vladimir Putin in more diplomatic language following his mum’s telling off.

He said: “He is a bad guy and a liar. It is good that people around the world are protesting about him. He shouldn’t be the president of Russia.

“We need countries like Britain to impose more sanctions and also send weapons, money and training to the Ukrainian army.”

After discovering I was a Daily Mirror journalist, a British man approached me shortly afterwards to say that although he has been left impressed by the Polish response to the crisis, he believes spiralling numbers trying to get through the border could lead to a tragedy on the Ukrainian side.

There had been unconfirmed reports of a death caused by crushing in the queue to cross the border on Saturday night and the man, who asked not to be named or photographed due to his work as a police officer in the UK, believes it may not be unfounded.

He today crossed the border into Poland after being in Lviv where his Ukrainian girlfriend lives.

He warned: “On this side the organisation is really good, but on the Ukrainian side things are very different.

“People are being forced to queue up in a pen type structure and squeezed in like sardines for days.

“There are only two small gated doorways and as soon as they open people are pushing and shoving to get through. Little kids are getting crushed in the rushes.

“I was having to fight people to make sure kids could get through without being injured.

“It’s a devastating situation and there needs to be someone there to help.”

Many of those being helped here today could be heard holding anxious mobile phone conversations with their loved ones back home in Ukraine.

But their spirits were being raised by 15-year-old Bogdana Pilipchuk, who was sitting on her suitcase while playing soothing tunes on her classical guitar.

She told how she was woken on her birthday on Thursday by the sound of Russian missiles flying just 200 metres away from her bedroom window in her hometown of Vinnytsia, west central Ukraine.

She said: “The windows of our house were shaking. It was very frightening.

“It’s a birthday I’ll never forget!”

Bogdana and her mother Alla, 40, spent two days on a 50-person bus, where she said small children slept in the aisles while the bus was running, before finally arriving here in Medyka.

She said: “Initially we wanted to stay there, but the situation forced us out.

“There was no longer any bread in the shops and supplies of everything were running out. There was a lot of fear.”

Bogdana’s granddad and uncle, both police officers called Olexander, are still in Ukraine where they are now part of the fight against Putin’s occupiers.

She said: “It’s heartbreaking for our men. They had to stay where the war is.

“It’s very hard and we are glad at least to be safe here, but we still want to return home to them as soon as possible.”

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