Heartbreaking farewells as fighting closes in on Dnipro
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There are desperate scenes at the train station in Dnipro, as Russia’s war on Ukraine gets uncomfortably close and families have begun fleeing west from the fighting.
There are no times or destinations on the departures board, just big crowds of people on the station steps, in the halls and on the platforms.
Every so often a train pulls into the station and crowds begin shoving forward to squeeze on board. No-one even asks where it’s going.
Most people are carrying only the most basic luggage: a small case, a plastic bag – but some have brought their pets in crates or on leads because they fear they might not be coming back.
In the crowd, men shout orders for the women and children to be let through; there is shrieking and tears and last hugs. Fathers kiss the train windows and press their hands to the glass. Then they pull away in tears, so their children don’t see.
One man told me he was staying to fight. We will win, he said, like he was convincing himself – not telling me. But these goodbyes are heartbreaking.
