Man Completes 20-hour Journey On Foot, Covers 69km To Flee Ukraine Amid Conflict
The UN refugee agency said Monday that more than 500,000 people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded the country last week
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.
Indian embassy in Ukraine
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.
Long story short: I just walked to Poland.
¡ª Ukraine Conflict Live 2022 (@UkraineLive2022) February 25, 2022
It was a hellish 20-hour journey undertaken in the middle of winter with thousands of refugees. I saw some terrible things:
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.
Vehicles were backed up for 25 kilometers, many out of gas. Several were abandoned as their occupants fled west on foot as fast as possible. pic.twitter.com/XfTtR99AUH
¡ª Ukraine Conflict Live 2022 (@UkraineLive2022) February 25, 2022
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.
UA soldiers were stopping cars and busses and yanking out any man aged 18-60 to conscript in the Ukrainian Army. In one place, a commissar was shouting ¡°say goodbye to your daughters, mothers, and girlfriends; you must turn back and fight the Russian invader!¡± pic.twitter.com/B61MZ48S1n
¡ª Ukraine Conflict Live 2022 (@UkraineLive2022) February 25, 2022
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.
A woman screamed for the army to spare her husband from conscription. A soldier slapped her and took her husband.
¡ª Ukraine Conflict Live 2022 (@UkraineLive2022) February 25, 2022
Things seem really desperate.
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.
There were old women carrying rucksacks hobbling along the shoulder. I asked one where she was going and she said ¡°Poland!¡± She was going to walk the 80km on her own.
¡ª Ukraine Conflict Live 2022 (@UkraineLive2022) February 25, 2022
In the end, he did reach Poland and was welcomed by a greeting committee with some tea.
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Building, coordinating and crafting engaging content for lifestyle brand 'Evolve' at Indiatimes. Successfully revamping the lifestyle section including topics such as mental health, relationships, self, skin care, music etc. I collaborate with experts from various fields to gather insights and create well-structured pieces.
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