© Efrem Lukatsky
Members of the civil defense prepare Molotov cocktails on Sunday, February 27, in Kiev, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
MEDYKA, Poland (AP) — As tens of thousands of refugees flee Ukraine in the face of Russia’s offensive, some Ukrainian men and women are returning to their country from across Europe to help defend their homeland.
At a checkpoint in Medyka, in southeastern Poland, many of them lined up Sunday morning so they could enter Ukraine.
“We must defend our nation. If not us, then who? said a man with a mustache leading about 20 Ukrainian truckers heading to the checkpoint to enter Ukraine. They came from all over Europe to return to Ukraine. They spoke to The Associated Press in Ukrainian and Russian.
Another member of the group said: “The Russians should be afraid. We are not afraid.”
The members refused to give their names for reasons of safety and protection of their families.
A woman in her 30s named Lesa spoke to the AP shortly before entering the checkpoint. “I am afraid, but I am a mother and I want to be with my children. What I can do? It’s scary but I have to do it.”
Another young woman also said that she was returning to take care of her children, so that the men can defend the country.
“We have to do it. We Ukrainians have to take care of our children so that they can fight,” she assured.
At least 150,000 people have left Ukraine for Poland and other neighboring countries following the Russian invasion, the United Nations Refugee Agency reported. He did not present a figure for the number of people entering Ukraine.