Thousands of civilians cross borders to leave Ukraine; men are instructed to stay and fight.
Ukrainian rules restrict men aged 18 to 60 – who could be drafted into the war – from leaving the country.
MEDYKA, Poland/SIGHETU MARMATIEI, Romania (Reuters)Thousands of Ukrainians, mostly women and children, crossed the border into Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia on Friday (25), when Russian missiles hit the capital Kiev and men of fighting age were forced to stay.
Many waited for hours in freezing conditions to leave Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion, with lines of cars snaking for kilometers toward some border crossings.
In Poland, which has the largest Ukrainian community in the region, with about one million people, authorities said that the waiting time to cross the border varies from 6 to 12 hours in some places.
In Medyka, in southern Poland, about 85 km from Lviv in western Ukraine, the roads were packed with cars, police directing traffic, and people embracing their loved ones after reaching the Polish side. An internet map site showed a third of the route congested with heavy traffic.
"Only women and children (are allowed) because it's forbidden for men. We leave all our fathers, men, husbands at home and it looks awful," said Ludmila, 30. When asked if she was worried about her husband, Ludmila burst into tears.
Ukrainian rules restrict men aged 18 to 60, who could be recruited, from crossing the borders.
Marta Buach, 30, from Lviv, said that her husband was also not allowed to cross paths with her in Medyka. "In Lviv everything is fine, but in other cities it's a real catastrophe. Kyiv was bombed, other small towns were bombed, we heard bombing everywhere.
"I think it's only a matter of time before it becomes as dangerous as other cities," she said.
UN aid agencies say the war could force up to five million people to flee abroad, with up to three million heading to Poland alone. They said fuel, money, and medical supplies are running out in parts of Ukraine.
At least 100.000 people have already been displaced in Ukraine after fleeing their homes since Russia launched its attacks, the UN refugee agency said.
European Union interior ministers will discuss the consequences of the crisis on Sunday. Germany has already said the bloc will accept anyone who escapes the violence.
"We need to do everything to accept without delay the people who are fleeing the bombs and tanks," Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters as she arrived for a separate meeting with her EU counterparts in Brussels.
Border authorities said 29.000 people entered Poland from Ukraine on Thursday, and about half indicated they were fleeing the war. In Romania, more than 10.000 Ukrainians arrived on Thursday, and nearly 3.000 in Slovakia.
Poland's Deputy Interior Minister, Paweł Szefernaker, said that Ukrainian bus drivers cannot cross the border because men of conscription age are being held in Ukraine.
Michał Mielniczuk, spokesman for the Podkarpackie region in southern Poland, said that temporary accommodations are being offered to people arriving.
"The vast majority continue on to other parts of Poland after receiving a hot meal," he told the PAP news agency.
Blood donations, meals
On the border with northern Romania, women wept as they said goodbye to their male loved ones, who were leaving for Sighetu Marmatiei, a remote town on the banks of the Tisa River, a Reuters witness said.
Long lines formed as cars waited to board a ferry across the Danube River to Isaccea, a town between Moldova and the Black Sea, local media in Romania showed.
Slovak authorities have asked people to donate blood and set up hospitals with 5.380 beds intended for the army or NATO use.
Across central Europe, on NATO's eastern flank, volunteers were posting messages on social media to organize accommodation and transport for people arriving from the borders.
Activists were setting up distribution points for food and hot drinks, and veterinarians were offering to care for pets.
Authorities in Poland and Romania have lifted pandemic quarantine rules for those arriving from outside the EU, and starting Friday, Ukrainians can receive COVID-19 vaccines in Poland.
Hungary said it would open a humanitarian corridor for citizens of third countries such as Iran or India fleeing Ukraine, allowing them to enter without a visa and taking them to the nearest airport in Debrecen.
Bulgaria began issuing passports to its citizens in Kyiv who needed travel documents and sent four buses to the Ukrainian capital to evacuate people. Approximately 250.000 ethnic Bulgarians live in Ukraine.
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