‘Best present for every woman on International Women’s Day is, stop the war’
- On global day to celebrate women, many fleeing Ukraine after Russia’s invasion are under immense stress to forge new lives, without their menfolk
- President Zelensky said ‘we usually celebrate this holiday but not today. I can’t when there are so many deaths, grief, suffering and war continues’
It’s a global day to celebrate women, but many fleeing Ukraine feel only the stress of finding a new life for their children as husbands, brothers and fathers stay behind to defend their country from Russia’s invasion.
The number of refugees reached 2 million on Tuesday, according to the United Nations, the fastest exodus Europe has seen since World War II. One million of them are children, Unicef spokesman James Elder tweeted, calling it “a dark historical first”.
Polina Shulga tried to ease the journey for her three-year-old daughter by hiding the truth.
“Of course it’s hard to travel with a child, but I explained to her that we’re going on vacation and that we’ll definitely come home one day when the war is over,” Shulga said.
She did not know what would come next after arriving in Hungary from Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, but believed the experience would make her stronger. “I feel like I’m responsible for my child, so it was easier for me to take this step and leave,” she said, as her little girl tugged at the hem of her coat.
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Civilians in Ukraine caught in escalating attacks despite Russian promises of humanitarian corridors
Nataliya Grigoriyovna Levchinka, from Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, felt much the same.
