Going home to war: Why are more Ukrainian refugees now turning back from Poland?
As the war enters its sixth week, the number of Ukrainians who have decided against taking up residence in the European Union is on the rise.
Hundreds of Ukrainians, almost entirely women, children and the elderly, stood in the line for the Kyiv-bound night train in Przemyśl, the main refugee hub in south-eastern Poland, on Monday night.
Among them was Natalia, 46, wrapped in a thick coat and scarf, waiting in line for the first leg of her trip to Zaporizhzhia after leaving her 16-year-old son in the Polish city of Katowice.
“The main thing was to get my child out,” she told Euronews. “I managed to remove my son from a hotspot. I brought him, I left him to live here until the war ends and I’m returning to my husband and my mother.”
Zaporizhzhia, a city in south-eastern Ukraine, has been subject to ongoing attacks and indiscriminate shelling by Russian forces since the beginning of the invasion.
It is also home to the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, whose shelling in early March and the eruption of a fire sparked concerns that a potential breach of its reactors and the resulting meltdown could cause a massive disaster — the first of its kind since the 1986 calamity at Chernobyl.
More than 3.9 million Ukrainians fled their country since Russia attacked more than a month ago, the majority heading for Poland.
But for Natalia, a recent lull in fighting opened up the possibility of return, as the alternative of staying abroad became increasingly untenable. She said many of her compatriots feel the same thing.
“Many are returning because they couldn’t find accommodation, they couldn’t find work — there wasn’t a possibility to live here. We’re not rich, and we weren’t aiming to come here for a holiday.”
“At home at least we can
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