Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced more than three million people to flee the country in search of safety, according to U.N. data.
On one day alone, 106,400 people entered Poland, the Polish Border Guard said.
The Times’ Wally Skalij gives a first-person account of what he is seeing in Poland and the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
A volunteer irons a donated blanket at a state theatre in Lviv, Ukraine.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Volunteers sort through donated clothing for refugees at the Palace of Art in Lviv, Ukraine. The distribution center provides donations to other shelters.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
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A refugee eats a bowl of soup at the Palace of Art in Lviv, Ukraine.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Saturday, March 19, 2022
Refugees patiently wait in line for three hours at the border crossing between Ukraine and Poland.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
A man comforts his wife in Lviv, Ukraine before she boards a train to Przemysl, Poland.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Refugees wait for the next train in Lviv, Ukraine trying to flee to Przemysl, Poland.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
A train engineer takes a cigarette break in between before transporting people at the main station in Lviv, Ukraine.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Thursday, March 17, 2022
A man prays during a funeral service for Ukrainian soldier Ivan Skrypnyk at the Church of St. Peter and Paul in Lviv.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
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A woman pays her respects during a funeral service for Ukrainian soldier Ivan Skrypnyk in Lviv on Thursday.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Ukrainian soldiers carry the casket of Ivan Skrypnyk at the Church of St. Peter and Paul in Lviv on Thursday.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
A woman kisses the forehead of a Ukrainian soldier during a funeral in Starychi, Ukraine.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Two Ukrainian soldiers are buried in a cemetery after being killed at the International Training Center by a Russian missile in Starychi, Ukraine.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
A funeral procession carrying the casket of two Ukrainian soldiers makes its way through the streets of Starychi, Ukraine. The men were killed at the International Training Center by a Russian missile strike.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Local residents kneel to pay their respects during the funeral procession.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
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Monday, March 14, 2022
Ukrainian soldiers walk through a central square in Lviv, Ukraine, on Monday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A singer performs in a central square in Lviv, Ukraine, on Monday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A Ukrainian who gave her name as Koma relaxes in Lviv, Ukraine, on Monday. Life seems normal in the big city in the western part of the country, although air raid sirens wail through the night.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A man walks toward a central square in Lviv, Ukraine, on Monday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Pedestrians walk near a central square in Lviv, Ukraine, on Monday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Friday, March 11, 2022
Young Ukrainian refugees listen to a piano player as they cross the border into Medyka, Poland, on Friday.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
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Ukrainian refugees on a bus in Medyka, Poland, on Friday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A young Ukrainian refugee outside a tent in Medyka, Poland.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A boy waits with other Ukrainian refugees in Medyka, Poland.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Ukrainian refugee Orest Hromnadzkiy gets a hug from sister Yuliia and mother Alla after he crossed the border into Medyka, Poland.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
A mural painted along an abandoned building at the border in Medyka, Poland.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Ukrainian refugees board a bus in Medyka, Poland. More than 2 million refugees have fled Ukraine in 12 days.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Members of the Polish military stay warm by a fire after helping Ukrainian refugees board a train to Krakow, Poland.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Ukrainian refugees board a train to Krakow after crossing the border in Medyka, Poland.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Ukrainian refugees board a train to Krakow after crossing the border in Medyka, Poland.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Ukrainian refugees hike to a train station to be transported to their next location after crossing the border in Medyka, Poland.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Monday, March 7, 2022
Young Ukrainian refugees play in the hallway of a school in Przemysl, Poland.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Przemysl emerged as a principal focus of the ongoing exodus because it is the first major city to the west of Medyka, the busiest crossing point along the 300-mile Polish-Ukrainian border.
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Clockwise from top left; A Ukrainian refugee sits alone in the Ukrainian House in Przemysl, Poland. The historical building is run by Ukrainians for its people and any guests of Przemysl; Romana Kovaliak writes a message on a chalk board while being sheltered at Helena Modrzejewskka private school in Przemysl, Poland; a Ukrainian refugee, holding her dog, sits in a tunnel leading to the main train station in Przemysl, Poland; and a doll sits near a trash can as Ukrainian refugees walk by outside the main train station in Przemysl, Poland.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Members of the U.S. Army in Przemysl, Poland.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Sunday, March 6, 2022
The influx of refugees is constant and daunting, but workers provide them food, clothes, blankets and phone chargers. It was managed chaos at the main train station Sunday. I think a bottleneck is happening at the station because of a lack of trains. We could see a crisis if the influx increases.
Ukrainian refugees board a bus after crossing the border in Medyka, Poland. The refugees are transported to an empty warehouse, then to a train station, where they will be taken to their next destination.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A Ukrainian refugee cries after arriving at the main train station in Przemysl, Poland. Thousands of refugees pass through the station on the way to their next destination.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
VIDEO | 01:07
Ukrainian Refugees at the main train station in Przemysl, Poland
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As refugees flee, a British volunteer soldier prepares to cross the border into Ukraine from Medyka, Poland.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Volunteers serve coffee to Ukrainian refugees on a cold evening in Medyka, Poland.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Volunteers try to stay warm next to a donation of clothes for Ukrainian refugees in Medyka, Poland.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Saturday, March 5, 2022
A refugee in Medyka, Poland, waits on a bus.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A mother and son wait on a bus at the border in Medyka, Poland, after fleeing Ukraine.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Refugees walk past a cemetery in Medyka, Poland, after crossing the border from Ukraine.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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“All these people passing, they have heard bombs, cannons, MIGs, now I want them to hear music,†said Davide Martello while playing Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence.†“And I also want to send a message of love to Vladimir Putin. Maybe it’s going to open up his heart a little bit. I don’t know.â€
Davide Martello plays Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence†as Ukrainian refugees stream into Poland. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A woman smokes in front of a bus carrying Ukrainian refugees at the border in Medyka, Poland.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Refugees hold each other as they talk to an officer in Medyka, Poland, after crossing the border from Ukraine. Refugees were given food and clothing and were taken to a shelter.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A refugee family from Ukraine eats in Medyka, Poland.
