On February 24, Poland's Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski told the media that nine reception centers will be set up along the country's 535-kilometer (332-mile) border with Ukraine to receive the incoming refugees.

He told VOA, 'I escaped war and came all the way here to study and make a better future but yet got stuck in another war.' However, because Afghanistan's government collapsed and his scholarship was no longer valid, he was unable to begin his studies and was forced to travel to Ukraine to work and earn money to finish his higher education on his own. The 20-year-old left Afghanistan six months ago to finish his medical studies in Moscow. But many Afghans like Sanaullah Tasmim arrived after the Taliban took control of Kabul in August.Īfghans trying to flee Ukraine sleep inside Lviv railway station, in Lviv, west Ukraine, Feb. Ukrainian migration data indicates at the end of 2020, there were some 1,449 Afghans with permanent residency in the country and more than 200 with temporary visas. I am facing the same misfortune I am very scared for my family and now must resettle again.' I came here with dreams and wished to study and pursue higher education. Six years ago, the 26-year-old migrated to Odessa, Ukraine, in search of a better future and had been teaching at an Odessa-based Afghan refugee school. 'My 3-year-old son was so terrified of the bombs exploding, I told him it was just balloons popping,' she told VOA. After taking a bus and waiting in long queues on the Polish border, the family arrived Monday. Rana Alwat, her husband and son left Odessa and boarded a train to flee the country. Hundreds of Afghans who fled war in their own country in recent years are now stranded in Ukraine, where many are attempting to escape.

Odessa, ukraine population 2020