The Mail today launched an appeal for help to those in greatest need as the world looks on with horror at Ukraine’s humanitarian crisis.
Britain has felt the pain of seeing children and mothers ripped from their families and forced to flee to other countries.
More than 122,000 Ukrainians are currently fleeing across border lines. The conflict could lead to four million people being forced from their homes, making it the most severe refugee crisis Europe has seen since Yugoslavia’s collapse in early 1990s.
We ask for your help: Send us donations. We will make sure that the funds reach the most qualified charities to aid families in need.
The launch of our appeal – run in parallel with our sister paper the Daily Mail – came amid fears that a rattled President Vladimir Putin is on the verge of unleashing terrifying new weapons after his invasion stalled.
Britain has been moved by horrifying images of women and their children being taken from their husbands and left to flee to other countries. (Above: An employee from Emergency Situation Inspectorate calms the child of a family who fled conflict-ridden Ukraine at Siret’s Romanian-Ukrainian frontier.
The Mail launched a Sunday appeal on Sunday to assist those who are most vulnerable as the world watches in horror the humanitarian crisis that is engulfing Ukraine. Above: Ukrainian refugees arrive in Poland at the Medyka border crossing with Polish border officers on Saturday
More than 122,000 Ukrainians are currently fleeing across border lines. The conflict could lead to four million refugees across Europe, making it the largest refugee crisis since Yugoslavia’s collapse in early 1990s. After Russia launched an extensive military attack against Ukraine, this picture shows a Polish border patrol carrying a child.
According to Ukrainian personnel on the spot, Ukrainian soldiers were seen in Kyiv at the location of an encounter with Russian troops in the early morning of February 26.
At the Vysne Negecke border crossing, in eastern Slovakia, there are refreshments for Ukrainian refugees.
As her daughter and she arrive at the Polish-Ukrainian Border crossing by bus on Saturday, Przemysl (Poland), a mother holds her hand.
The UN Refugee Agency reported that more than 100,000 refugees fled violence in the midst of a mass exodus. The UN Refugee Agency fears that the number could rise to four million, if things get worse. A screen from drone footage above shows cars running 35 km to the Shehyni border crossing into Poland. It is this line as Ukrainians attempt to escape Russia’s military intervention against Ukraine.
As a troubling sign, video footage from Russia’s Western frontier with Ukraine captured TOS-1 heavy flammer tanks moving towards their neighbour. They can also fire thermobaric high-power weapons, which has been called the ‘father all bombs’.
The resistance of Ukrainian soldiers stopped Russia’s attempts to seize major cities and also destroyed many armoured military vehicles. According to reports, 1,000 Russian troops were killed in the Russian civil war.
According to reports, two transport aircraft carrying 300 Russian paratroopers may have been downed.
Last night, as air-raid sirens rang out in Kyiv as the capital braced itself for another Russian bombardment, disturbing evidence emerged of a lorry carrying TOS-1 thermobaric rockets – dubbed the ‘father of all bombs’ – rumbling towards northern Ukraine.
Another day full of excitement:
- British intelligence stated that strong Ukrainian resistance had slowed Putin’s attack, but Russia’s defense ministry ordered an additional wave of attacks on all fronts last night as its largest contingent gathered around Kyiv.
- Kyiv saw street fights break out as residents sought shelter underground from the ‘rolling thunder of blasts’.
- Vitali Klitschko (ex-boxing champion) was elected Kyiv’s mayor. The curfew will last until tomorrow morning and anyone found on the streets of Kyiv will be treated as a Russian “saboteur”.
- Dramatic footage showed a Russian missile slamming into a Kyiv apartment block, obliterating part of the building, and wounding six – but, astonishingly, the death toll was put at just two;
- Ukraine had 198 civilian deaths, three of them children. Another 1,115 people were wounded, 33 of which were children.
- Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, refused Washington’s invitation to flee him.
- Boris Johnson promised more weapons in a telephone call to Mr Zelensky, while the Duke of Cambridge and Duchess vowed to stand with all Ukrainians;
- After EU resistance to the ban fell apart, Russia will be expelled from the Swift bank system. However, there are concerns that the harsh sanction might provoke retaliation.
- The Mail was informed Sunday by Ben Wallace, Defense Secretary. He said that Russia’s setbacks could lead to Putin resorting ‘total violence.
- China, India, and the United Arab Emirates were all condemned for abstaining on a UN Security Council resolution which would have ‘deplored Russia’s invasion;
- Billionaire Roman Abramovich handed the ‘stewardship and care’ of Chelsea FC to a charitable foundation amid criticism of his links to the Russian state – but a source insisted the club was not for sale;
- Following the Kremlin backed broadcaster’s description of the invasion, the Tory MPs called for Ofcom to take legal action against Russia Today.
The UN Refugee Agency reported that more than 100,000 refugees fled the violence in their homeland amid a mass exodus. The UN Refugee Agency fears four million could be at risk if the current situation gets worse.
Afshan Khon, UNICEF’s UN children’s agency Unicef, stated that conflict is rapidly turning into a humanitarian crisis and spreading at an accelerated pace.
He said: “For those who are staying in Kyiv life has become underground, with significant numbers moving to shelters and subways to escape the dangers.” In the eastern Ukraine, thousands of people are living without heat and water.
One block of high-rise apartments was hit in Kyiv by shelling overnight on February 26, 2012.
Putin was reported to have summoned his inner circle up to the Ural mountains yesterday in anger over how his battle plan had been entangled
Last night, celebrities supported The Mail on Sunday’s Appeal.
Julian Fellowes was an Oscar-winning writer. He said, “Many of them will lose husbands and sons and all they have through no fault their own.” It is obvious that we should try our best to assist them.
Presenter Esther Rantzen spoke out, saying that “the unfolding tragedy has been heartbreaking.” It is our hope that this fund will help the Ukrainians who are suffering and show them how much we appreciate their determination and courage.
Actress Maureen Lipman stated: “Please join me in empathising sufficient to raise money for peace-loving democracies in peril.”
Gyles Brandreth, Broadcaster: “Watching this horror unfold makes us feel powerless. We are humbled by their courage. Let’s all get aboard with the MoS, and help where we can.
An army column made up of Russian military vehicles can be seen at Oktyabrsky in Belgorod Region. It is located near the Russian/Ukrainian border on Saturday
Boris Johnson promised more weapons in a telephone call to Mr Zelensky, while the Duke and Duchess vowed to stand with Ukraine’s citizens. The PM and military personnel from RAF Brize Norton (northwest of London) meet with the Prime Minister to express gratitude for their continued support of Ukraine’s military operations.
Putin, according to reports, summoned his inner circle yesterday to the Ural Mountains and expressed anger at his battle plan being thwarted.
Ilya Posomarev was a Russian politician who claimed Russia has only enough weapons to defend itself for three or four days. If Ukraine can hold on for another nine days, he predicted that Putin would need to negotiate.
One video posted on social media showed a Russian tank that had ran out of fuel and was parked up.
Yesterday dawn, President Zelensky took to Kyiv’s streets again to rally his nationmen. He declared: “We won’t lay down our arms.” Our weapon is our truth and we will stand up for our country.
As two vehicles burn in Kyiv (Ukraine), on Saturday, Ukrainian soldiers took positions at the gates of a military base. Russian troops stormed towards Ukraine’s capital, Saturday. Street fighting broke out.
Yesterday morning, President Zelensky, (pictured), marched again to Kyiv to rally his fellow citizens, vowing that he would not surrender his weapons. Because our weapon is truth, we will protect our state.
Germany made a significant shift last night by confirming that it will transfer 1000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine and 500 Stinger-class surface-to-air Missiles to Ukraine.
Tweeted by the Duke and Duchess: “In Oct 2020 we had to have the privilege to visit President Zelensky, and the First lady to learn about their hope and optimism regarding Ukraine’s future.
“Today we stand alongside the President and all Ukrainians as they courageously fight for their future.”
During a recent visit to RAF Brize Norton, Mr Johnson praised the Ukrainians’ brave fight, and added: ‘We have to do all we can to improve the odds that they face. That’s why our military, financial, and humanitarian supplies are being sent.
The Tory MPs demanded Ofcom, the TV regulator, take action against Russia Today. (RT), after Russian-backed broadcaster described invasion of Ukraine as a special military operation’ to ‘liberate Ukraine
The haunting sound of Europe’s dark history: This is a chilling reminder of the horror of family separation.
For Sunday’s Mail, IAN Gallagher
The weary Ukrainian border patrol raises her arms to block the way of an older man, in his 20s. She responds by making an animal cry. After holding his baby and wife close, he said goodbyes. They cross the border into Poland together, but he is not there.
The man knew it. He leaned forward one last time, an act that was instinctive and futile. He lets out another, more aggressive cry before appearing to crumble.
The guard initially seems stern, but as she rushes him to passport control she raises her eyebrows and starts to wince as though acknowledging his pain.
The hope for safe passage from this terrible, frightening country is not possible for men between the ages of 18 and 60.
Two children and a woman rest in the midst of their meagre possessions following a hard journey to Hungary.
After fleeing Ukraine, a refugee arrived at the station.
An Slovak Armed Forces member carries a fleeing child from Ukraine, who has arrived in Slovakia along with her family.
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Poland by train from Ukraine at Pzemysl station on February 26
Photograph of children and women from Ukraine taken at the border between Medyka/Shehyni. They waited for days and hours to cross on foot.
Here at the Medyka border crossing, similar scenes of wartime partings – of families rent asunder – unfold with metronomic regularity.
Tens of thousands of women and children carrying the flotsam of their lives wait in the shivering cold – some for 24 hours and more – and the queue stretches from passport control atop a hill, down a narrow slope, broadening to 30 thick as it curls around a corner then down through a village of roadside currency exchanges and gaudy duty-free shops and beyond.
Friday night was a strange evening. A familiar West Country accent rose to the top of Slavic chatter and children’s cries.
Turned away at the final hurdle, having queued all day, a man from Dorset – his Ukrainian wife and two under-fives in tow – is loudly complaining. Bak Jazro (38) runs an off-licence in Weymouth and once calm, he says that his family visited his Ukrainian wife in Kyiv, when the first ordnance rumble began to make a sound.
His journey from the beginning to the border was difficult, just like everyone else. He said, “We went in a hired car but then had to dump it. Now we have to stay in it.” “Who knows when?” Actually, it’s a matter of if. As the sun sets, a woman recounts a scare that occurred a few hours before. “Everyone was warned to get away from an explosion,” she says.
“One lady on foot begged a driver of a car packed with children to let her go.”
There is no shortage of disbelief. It is hard to believe that this could have happened.
This sense was more evident than anywhere else, five miles from the Mostyska railway station. Children playing with their feet and hundreds of mothers clutching baby dolls awaited specially chartered night train to Poland.
However, there are a handful of Ukrainian soldiers and officials who can see every man.
After crossing the border at Vysne Negecke in eastern Slovakia on February 26, a Slovak soldier and border guard helped a Ukrainian lady push a pram.
After crossing the border at Vysne Negecke, Eastern Slovakia on Saturday, Ukrainian refugees waited to start their journey.
It was built in Stalin’s era. The harsh lighting of the waiting room exposes the tears of many more women waiting to see their turn outside.
Lena, a 27 year-old female named Lena is seen standing on the platform wearing a beret with a fashionable fawn coat and a chic hat.
Her appearance is reminiscent of the 1940s. Indeed, this whole rescue operation – trains carrying women and children, powering through darkness across war-ravaged lands – is redolent of the Second World War, as is the case with so much of this tragedy.
You will follow the Austro-Hungarian railroad line from Lviv, Ukraine to Krakow, Poland.
Olga Zdebaska from Lviv (28 years old) is also on that platform. Although the inviting waiting area is tempting, Olga Zdebaska is reluctant to give up her place.
As she cradles Davyd (two-years old), she tells the story of her having to say goodbye to Volodia, an engineer, just hours before. She said, ‘He is going away to fight.’ ‘One minute I was looking forward to our anniversary meal – that reminds me… I’ve forgotten to cancel a hairdresser’s appointment – and then our family gets ripped apart.’
Near midnight, the temperature has dropped to zero. It is almost midnight and Olga is crying. She can’t stop her from rubbing against Davyd.
Today, after fleeing Ukraine and arriving in Slovakia, a refugee hugs his relative.
This weekend, a woman brought food to refugees from Ukraine.
Arte, 6, and Diana, 8, are nearby, skipping joyfully up and back on the platform steps.
It was difficult to say goodbye to Volodia. We don’t know when, and it was very heartbreaking. We will be staying with Volodia’s sister in Poland for now. Next, what? You never know.
Her mood improves when she is informed that the train will be arriving in a few minutes. Later, through the windows of another train – heading in the opposite direction – an endless chain of red and yellow lights appears in the distance: the 30-mile jam of cars heading for the border.
On arrival in Lviv we see hundreds of children and mothers crowded on waiting rooms and platforms. More people arrive in Lviv the next day, and families are preparing for evacuation by packing their belongings into cars.
The queue at the border has expanded overnight. Anastasiia Papukha (33), a Kyiv attorney originally from Horlivka, in Ukraine, was speaking out to say that they had just driven from Kyiv. She said, “We took a sideroad to escape an attack on Gostomel Airport. The sky was lit up with flashes and looked dangerous.
“Some families are still waiting at the border, sometimes for as long as 30 hours. People need urgent food, water, and toilets. In a massive traffic jam, there are many thousands.
“I’m a Ukrainian patriot, who learned Russian as a child.” British and American citizens need to see that Putin lies when he claims that he’s liberating Russian speakers from Ukraine. Russian speakers from Ukraine, I don’t want Russia nor Putin.
“Those maps that show the Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine are not indicative of support for Putin by people like myself. Donbass and Crimea should be returned to Ukraine. The clock should go back to 2012.
“We believe that Europe and the West are better than Putin’s insane ideas of restoring the Soviet Union.