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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: UKR 1YR Poland Response
HEADLINE: Refugees In, Weapons Out: Poland’s Frontline Role In Ukraine War
TEASER: Poland has led refugee response – and is also the main conduit for Western arms into Ukraine
PUBLISHED AT: 02/20/2023 at 9:30am
BYLINE: Henry Ridgwell
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Przewodow, Poland
VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Ridgwell
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: MAS, Jepsen
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, APTN, Reuters
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB _X_ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:01
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: VPKGF
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO)) [[For the past year, Poland has led the refugee response as millions of Ukrainians fled the Russian invasion. Meanwhile, Poles are having to adjust to the large-scale warfare taking place on their doorstep. As Henry Ridgwell reports from the border, that conflict spilled over into Poland late last year.]]
((VIDEO: VOA/AGENCY FOOTAGE OF CRATER, VILLAGE))
((NARRATOR))
Przewodow is still in mourning its two lost sons. The small village on the Poland-Ukraine border was thrust into the center of global attention when, on November 15, a missile exploded on this farm, killing two local workers. All that remains is a large crater.
NATO and Western allies said the explosion was likely caused by a stray Ukrainian air defense missile. But at first, many feared it was a Russian attack.
((Henry Ridgwell, VOA News (standup version))
“For a few terrifying hours after the missile exploded, the world believed that Russia’s war on Ukraine had come to Europe – to NATO territory. And as the conflict escalates, the communities here continue to live in the shadow of war.”
((NARRATOR))
The leader of the local council says there have been many fearful moments over the past 12 months.
((Grzegorz Drewnik, Dolhobyczow Commune Leader (in Polish) ))
“The worst were the first days of the war, when the front was moving here to the west, and nobody really knew at what point it would stop, nobody knew whether we would be bordering the Russian Federation in any moment. Over this last year, a lot has changed. Lots of grief, sadness, anger. Well later on, I guess it's human nature that you get used to everything.”
((NARRATOR))
The communities along the border were the first to witness the fallout of Russia’s invasion a year ago.
Friends Natalia Kostykiewicz-Kolasińska and Renata Żyła live in Tomaszów Lubelski, a few kilometers from the border.
((Renata Żyła, Tomaszów Lubelski Resident (in Polish)))
“Very quickly people started coming in. And here our whole community mobilized, and people rushed to help the Ukrainians who were streaming into our town in big numbers.”
((Natalia Kostykiewicz-Kolasińska, Tomaszów Lubelski Resident (in Polish) ))
“Our family, who live further away from the border, called us very scared. They asked us if we had passports, if we were going to escape in some way. It didn't occur to us at all because we were so involved.”
((NARRATOR))
Like thousands of other Poles, Natalia took in a Ukrainian family – seven people in total. She says she has bad days where she fears the war is coming closer.
((Natalia Kostykiewicz-Kolasińska, Tomaszów Lubelski Resident (in Polish) ))
“Some of the conversations we have are about what our plan B is. We have in the back of our minds all the time that something is going on. When I wake up at night, you can hear the warplanes, you can hear them really circling overhead. It's hard not to think about the war.”
((NARRATOR))
Thousands of refugees still travel across the border from Ukraine. In the opposite direction, Poland is the key conduit for Western weapons being sent to aid Ukrainian forces.
For the people here, war doesn’t seem far away.
((Henry Ridgwell, for VOA News, Przewodow on the Poland-Ukraine border.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Przewodow, Poland
BylineHenry Ridgwell
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
