Odessa Station, the gateway to escape from the occupied south of Ukraine

Night is coming and it is rush hour at Odessa station. In a large room on the second floor of the old building, dozens of IDPs sit on white plastic benches and wait for confirmation of train departure. It is a place where many Ukrainians from some of the cities in the south of the evacuated country, most attacked by Russian troops, arrive, still a safe passage for those who want to continue on their way to the EU.

Grandmother bids farewell to granddaughter who will spend one season in Austria with the support of teammates on a football team. A soldier holding the hand of a girl he is wearing, a few minutes before saying goodbye. A woman in a wheelchair assisted by the rest of the family. Music plays through the speakers on the platforms as the departure of one of their trains approaches.

More than 4.6 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, but before they reach the border and reach its host country, many cross their country for fear that something might happen along the way. The sense of asylum of thousands of Ukrainian volunteers mobilized in safe cities such as Odessa or Lviv soothes uncertainty about travel, which is often decided overnight.

“We just want to be safe”

Faina and Sasha spent seven hours at the port city station after leaving home in the early hours of the morning on one of the buses provided by local authorities to evacuate civilians from Mykolaiv, which is still surrounded by one of the Russian invasion fronts. The elderly couple, aged 71 and 75, have just learned that their train has been canceled, they are tired and will now have to make a further detour to their final destination, Hungary. But do not complain, they only have words of thanks.

They are grateful to be protected, having lived in fear in their bodies for the past few weeks. They are grateful that they did not have to open the food bag prepared the day before the flight because the volunteers at the Odessa station greeted them with hot dishes. Faina said they had just left the house where they were resisting, Faina said, despite the insistence of her daughter, who lives in Hungary, the fourth country where more refugees from Ukraine have passed since the start of the war. He told us: Come, come, come. “We refused, but it was too much,” they said.

Already at the station and surrounded by suitcases, still not knowing how to get to their destination, the couple decides to leave: “Now we do not bother to have a house, we do not bother with our belongings. “We just want to be safe,” Sasha said, wearing a woolen hat and a tired look. They do not know exactly what their route will be, but at each point of the trip accompanied by volunteers, they feel safe.

On Sunday night, Faina was preparing when she saw on TV that she was on a bombing alarm. He could not hear the sound of the sirens, but he could hear the sound of the rocket hitting an unknown location in Mykolaev. This was her last fear, but the decision to leave Ukraine was made a few days ago with her husband. He was lying in bed, asleep, when the sound of a shell woke him up like never before.

“It was as if the bed had flown. Everything was trembling. It looked like an earthquake. “It was very close to home, next to the hospital,” she said. “It was there that we made the decision. We can not wait anymore. ” They travel with a small military suitcase and a few plastic bags. “For each of us, we have several changes of winter and spring. We do not bring only summer clothes. We hope to return at this time. ”

Sasha shows a transparent plastic box that she decided to bring with her. Carry dozens of rolls of cigarette paper. Tobacco in a metal box, which opens to show the scent inside. He also carefully shows the small machine with which he makes them: “so much cheaper.”

Evacuated from Kherson

Next to her, Valentina poses on her feet with the main character of the IDP room at the Odessa station. Little orange cat, only two months old and with soft fur. He travels with his 15-year-old daughter, who puts herself on her mother’s shoulders. They come from Kherson, one of the cities in southeastern Ukraine occupied by Russian forces. “It was not possible to get out of there until this week, it was very dangerous,” the woman said while painting the pet.

They managed to escape through an evacuation caravan prepared by a religious organization, he explains. “We heard about this opportunity a week ago and decided to join us. “We were scared, but it was quiet,” said the woman, who had no choice but to live with Russian troops occupying her town. “Sometimes you meet them, but I tried to be careful not to let anything happen. “Some have had their phones or cars confiscated …,” he said. They struggled for weeks to buy food and medicine.

The conversation is interrupted by the shouts of a volunteer from the station. “Those who are going to be evacuated, the train must stop on the right!” He says in Ukrainian to try to arrange for newcomers to Odessa and explain the change of plans after changing the destination of the convoy, which is now leaving for Lviv.

He will not join that train. He waits for another train to leave for Germany, but the old couple hurries up and starts preparing things to get to where they need to be.

On the other side of the open space, several family members are leaning on a small plastic table. Also from Mykolaev. They were not going to leave town, but they did it for Grandma. A 72-year-old woman tries to listen to her daughter before she lowers her voice to not understand. “He has diabetes and his medication was becoming more and more difficult. So we go. “It can be dangerous for him to stay here,” said Anna, his daughter and the mother of the rest of the family. Their lack of access to medicines frightened them more than the sound of bombs, which, according to his 15-year-old teenager. Son, he has already reached the habit

They talk quietly until almost everyone around them stands up. They shoot at the stairs of the station. The son confirms that it is time to leave. Their final destination is Poland, a European country where most Ukrainian refugees have passed and where their loved ones will meet them. But they still have a few ways to go.

A group of IDPs heads to Bakni. There are barely enough lights to see the corresponding car number. In a few street lights the music plays on one of the speakers shortly before departure time. People are spinning around the train door. All will go by one car, but the entrance is quiet. There are a few minutes left before the convoy leaves for Lviv, the region with the highest number of IDPs.

IDPs in Ukraine

Residents of the country’s safest areas are turning to IDPs for care, with their neighbors being driven by the worst attacks of the conflict. Some leave, some stay. The UNHCR estimates that about 10 million people have fled their homes but remained inside Ukraine.

In the iconic city of Odessa on Monday, Irina set up military networks to support the Ukrainian army. He left home in the first weeks of the war with his grandchildren on the Romanian border, but his intention was always to return to his hometown of Kherson. Could never.

The Russian occupation made their return impossible. Now she is looking for help to not think too much about the safety of her child, mother and mother-in-law. Stuck in every city or its surroundings. He is afraid to give too many details to protect the family. He does not want to leave the country. Says he never wanted to go. Irina will wait in Odessa for readiness to return.