Thousands of people are desperately fleeing Ukraine amid conflict with Russia. One among them was a man who had to walk for 20 hours straight just so he could get out of the country.?
This 25-year-old?independent journalist from Pittsburgh named Manny Marotta was working in Ukraine. He shared his experience of how he had to complete a 20-hour journey on foot from Lviv in Ukraine to Poland.
He shared his experience in a long thread on his Twitter handle Ukraine Conflict Live 2022 where he talked about the journey as well as the plight of people alongside him trying to escape the country.?
Initially, he saw a number of vehicles that were backed up for 25 kilometres. Many had abandoned their vehicles because they were out of gas and people wanted to flee as soon as possible, hence they left their vehicles and fled west on foot.
He also mentioned how Ukrainian soldiers asked men from 18 to 60 years of age to join the force in order to save their country instead of fleeing. ¡°Say goodbye to your daughters, mothers and girlfriends, you must turn back and fight Russian invaders¡±, said one commissar, according to Marotta.
He also said how he befriended a 24-year-old man and exchanged numbers with him before he was dragged away to join the war. Marotta said the situation was so desperate that a woman¡¯s husband was conscripted by the Ukraine Army to fight against invaders as she desperately pleaded with them to let him go.
He also met some old women who had no way out to flee the war-hit country and decided to walk all 80 km to reach Poland by themselves. Not just that toddlers were too forced to walk a long distance without knowing why they were doing so.?
In the end, he did reach Poland and was welcomed by a greeting committee with some tea.?
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