Over the past five months, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians and left countless others with life-changing injuries.
Since February 24th, at least 12 million people have fled their homes with five million leaving for neighbouring countries and millions more displaced within Ukraine’s own borders.
But as the weeks and months pass and the fighting continues, many of the people who initially left are now starting to return.
Dan McLaughlin, who has been reporting on the Ukraine war for The Irish Times since February, recalls on today’s podcast how in the initial weeks following the invasion, there was a constant stream of people crossing the border into Poland, trying to seek shelter from the conflict.
“It was absolutely clear from the traffic on the roads, from the size of the tailbacks on the border, a huge amount of people were leaving. Now it’s clear that more people are coming back than are leaving,” McLaughlin told today’s episode of In the News.
As men aged 18-60 are unable to leave the country, many women with children may have decided to return home to be with their loved ones. Others simply cannot afford to stay abroad any longer, he added.
These people look at cities like Kiev and think “there is a risk, missiles still hit the city, but it’s worth the risk going back and being at least in our own apartment, being in a place where we know, having our friends and family network around to help us”, McLaughlin says.
“So in a way they are being forced to go back, even to areas that are further east and further south that are actually still quite dangerous, because they can’t afford to stay away.”
After nearly half a year of war, how is Ukraine coping with the unprecedented number of civilians who have suffered life-changing injuries since February and the massive infrastructure damage across the country?
With no end in sight for the conflict, what does the future look like for Ukrainians as they try to rebuild their lives?
In The News is presented by Sorcha Pollak and Conor Pope and produced by Declan Conlan, Suzanne Brennan and Jennifer Ryan.
