At this Ukraine-Poland border crossing, many refugees say they hope to return home someday

Every 10 minutes they pick their bags and everything they can carry while fleeing their homes and take a couple of steps forward— leaving their country and lives behind.
Many stayed back in the country, hoping things would settle down. But as the war continues, their hopes to return home seem to be fading. They now move west, towards Poland, which is just a few steps away, and from there to other parts of Europe.

This is the only border crossing between Ukraine and Poland where people can cross on foot. There are seven more border points between the two countries, but they are maintained for those travelling in cars and buses.
The village on the Ukraine side is called Shehyni, while that on the Polish side is Medyka. The crossing is named after these villages. While most people are going towards Medyka, a smaller group is moving towards Sheyni as well.
Over a month into the war, the number of people fleeing to Poland has come down. According to UNHCR, over 3.8 million people have left Ukraine, of which nearly 2.3 million have gone to or through Poland.Since the martial law in Ukraine disallows men between 18 and 60years to leave the country, most people at the border crossing are children, women and elderly. There are a few men, but they have come to drop other members of their family.
There were a few hundred people at the border crossing on Monday. It used to be thousands in the early days of the war. Kamarova Irena, 42, was waiting with her 9-year-old daughter, who stood next to her holding a doll. Irena broke down thinking about her husband, who was still was in Kharkiv— their home city.
Her elder daughter, who is 18, crossed the border a week ago. She lived in people’s homes in different parts of western Ukraine. She said she and her daughters were waiting within the country in hope that the war would stop. But, with Russia reducing some of the cities to rubble, she decided to cross the border, “for safety and future” of her children.
Her home in Kharkiv was not safe anymore, though it hadn’t been damaged yet, she said. She was now going to Portugal, and hoped to learn the language, find work, and school for her girls again. Tearing up she said,”I don’t want to leave my husband behind. I would like to go back home, sometime.”

Though there are only a few hundred people, the process was still hours long. Most of them were waiting for their turn at the immigration. The queue progressed slowly. One of them leaving for Poland, and from there to Germany, was Anatolli Korol, 24, from Kyiv.
He fled his home on the first day of the war. His parents had left a day earlier, as they anticipated Russia may launch an attack any time. But Korol and his ser stayed back. On the morning of February 24, as soon as they heard Russia had invaded, raining bombs, he and his ser left in their car.