Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lviv’s railway station has become a haven for people fleeing the fighting and airstrikes.
For most who have fled their homes, this is the first place where they can eat and sleep safely in weeks, the first place where they can cry uncontrollably, at last. This is where women see off men who are going to war, and where men see off their mothers, wives and children who are forced to flee the country. Tens of thousands of kilograms of humanitarian aid pass through the station to be sent all around the country.
Many people have been seeking refuge in Lviv, the largest city in western Ukraine and approximately 70 kilometres east of the Polish border. Aside from a strike to an aircraft repair plant on 18 March, it has been largely untouched by Russian bombing.
