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Transcript/ScriptUkrainian Refugees – Bakalets
HEAD: Ukrainian Women and Children Spend Days on the Road to Seek Safety
PUBLISHED AT: 03/01/2022 AT 5:45PM
BYLINE: Lesia Bakalets
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
EDITORS: KE(1st), BR
VIDEOGRAPHER: Yuriy Zakrevskiy
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, Reuters, AP
PLATFORMS: TV only
TRT: 4:07
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE: Zoom interviews cleared for use))
((INTRO:))
[[According to the UN, more than 500,000 refugees have left Ukraine with tens of thousands more fleeing their country every day. Lesia Bakalets spoke with some of the women and children fleeing the Russian invasion. Anna Rice narrates her story.]]
((NARRATION))
Four days on the road.
From Kyiv to Zhitomyr, then to Rivne and on to the Polish border, joining the 100-kilometer line of cars and people with bags walking along the side of the road.
That’s what happened to Snizhana when she left Kyiv on February 25th to travel to Germany where she has relatives.
((Snizhana, Ukrainian Refugee)) ((IN RUSSIAN))
((Mandatory Courtesy: Zoom))
“We had to move to a different border, the one with Slovakia. There’s still a 6-kilometer line of cars there, but at least it’s not 100 kilometers.”
((NARRATION))
After kissing her husband goodbye, she gets on a bus and crosses the Slovakian border. He heads back to Kyiv.
((Snizhana, Ukrainian Refugee)) ((IN RUSSIAN))
((Mandatory Courtesy: Zoom))
“We were met at the border, then taken to a school where we could get warm, have a bite to eat and some water. Then friends of our relatives picked us up from there to take us somewhere where we could spend the night. And then we continued on our way to Germany.”
((NARRATION))
On the second day of Russia’s invasion Olga also left Ukraine, together with her one-year-old son Taras. Today they are safe in Poland.
((Olga Sheremet, Ukrainian Refugee)) ((IN UKRAINIAN))
((Mandatory Courtesy: Zoom))
“I’m staying with my husband’s sister now. We left Irpin, we heard the shelling and fighting in Hostomel. And literally two hours after we left, Russian tanks entered Irpin, Bucha and Vorzel.”
((NARRATION))
Katerina Ilchenko’s husband is American. For weeks, he and the whole family had been trying to convince her to leave Ukraine.
((Katerina Ilchenko, Ukrainian Citizen)) ((IN RUSSIAN)
((Mandatory Courtesy: Zoom))
“I told them I’m not going anywhere. You know why? Because I haven’t finished renovating the apartment! I finished the kitchen but haven’t done our bedroom."
((NARRATION))
After the U.S. State Department strongly urged American citizens to leave Ukraine, Katerina partially gave in. The family left Kyiv and headed to the west of the country a week before the Russian invasion. Now they are planning to leave the country
((Katerina Ilchenko, Ukrainian Citizen)) ((IN RUSSIAN))
((Mandatory Courtesy: Zoom))
“We haven’t gone as far as we could have because I didn’t want to leave Ukraine. But anyway, it’s better than being at home – because one of the first missile strikes hit our neighborhood.”
((NARRATION))
More than half a million people like Katerina, Olga and Snizhana have fled Ukraine – according to the UN – and the number keeps growing.
Even more Ukrainians are internally displaced, say experts.
((Franck Düvell, International Migration Institute))
((Mandatory Zoom))
“660,000 displaced persons internationally, in other countries, and 1.5 million displaced persons within Ukraine. So, the total of 2.2 million, which is 4% of the population – that’s significant already, and that’s only after five days.”
((NARRATION))
It’s a refugee crisis in Europe happening in real time.
((Cynthia Buckley, University of Illinois Sociology Professor))
((Mandatory Courtesy: Zoom))
“Without any sort of aerial protection, without any sort of engagement by either supporters of Ukraine or the Ukrainian military, having the capacity to deter those missiles from hitting targets it may well be, I would argue, a worst-case scenario, where we may find that we only have 2-5 million refugees out of 44.1 million Ukrainians.”
((NARRATION))
But those Ukrainians who spoke to VOA say they do not want refugee status – they plan to return home.
((Katerina Ilchenko, Ukrainian Citizen)) ((IN RUSSIAN))
((Mandatory Courtesy: Zoom))
“One of my biggest fears is to come back to Kyiv and not recognize it. From what I can see – and I try not to look much, little bits here and there – I can see what they’ve done to it. But I’ll love it in any state. I’ll come back to Kyiv, I’ll unlock the door to my apartment with my own key, I’ll come in and I’ll finish renovating our bedroom. Against all odds.”
((For Lesia Bakalets in Washington, Anna Rice, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington
Embargo DateMarch 1, 2022 18:36 EST
Byline Lesia Bakalets
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
