Hundreds of brave Ukrainians are returning to their besieged homeland to fight the invading Russian army.
The heroic volunteers responded to a battle cry from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Green calls on men between the ages of 18 and 60 to stay and protect the country from it Vladimir Putinthe pressure of.
And while Polish authorities say more than 40,000 have fled the war-torn nation since fighting erupted earlier this week, another 9,000 have crossed the border and hundreds are ready to fight Russian troops.
At Medyka, a Polish border post 50 miles west of the Ukrainian city of Liiv, Mail Online met three men who had returned from around the world to take up arms.
Sergei Udod, 40, Nikola Lisko, 42, and Victor Kondratyuk, 53, met on a flight from Paris to Warsaw before boarding the Medica, where they planned to head to Kiev and face the Russians.
At Medyka, a Polish border post 50 miles west of the Ukrainian city of Liiv, Mail Online met three men who had returned from around the world to take up arms. Sergei Udod, 40, Nikola Lisko, 42, and Viktor Kondratyuk, 53, (pictured together) met on a flight from Paris to Warsaw before taking a lift to Medica, where they planned to head to Kiev and get up. against the Russians
Although Polish authorities say more than 40,000 have fled the war-torn nation since fighting erupted earlier this week, another 9,000 have crossed the border and hundreds are ready to fight Russian troops.
Ukrainian soldiers are depicted building on the other side of Kiev’s highway as they prepare to defend the city from Russian invaders, with gunfire and explosions heard in the center of the capital on Friday.
Sergei, a doctor based in Libya, said: “We have no choice but to go back and fight. This is our duty. Our country must be protected and we are all ready for that.
“Russia’s aggression must be stopped. We are a proud nation and we are brave, our army may be smaller than Putin’s, but we will make sure he fights and give him a match he will not expect.
“He will wish he had never moved to Ukraine and stayed at home in Moscow. We will not surrender without a fight and we are ready to die if we have to.
Officer Mikola, who was on holiday in Brazil when Russia invaded earlier this week, said: “I could have chosen the easy way and just stayed on the beach, but I couldn’t do that when I knew my compatriots were fighting and they are dying to save our country.
“I have friends and relatives who took up arms and I have a family back in Kiev. As soon as I saw the situation, I didn’t think about it and returned by plane from Brazil to Europe, where I met these two boys in Paris and flew to Warsaw.
“It’s been a long road and who knows how it will end, but I will do my duty and defend my country.”
The driver of the truck, Victor, who flew in from Canada, said: “You have to face aggression, so I came back. I fought before in 2014 and I know I will fight again. “My country needs me, our president needs us, and the people need to stay together to fight Putin and his forces.”
Hundreds poured into Poland at low temperatures, eagerly grabbing cups of hot tea and coffee offered to them by local charities and volunteers.
Many have spent hours in long queues and closed roads winding back from the border to Liv and Quiv for more than eight hours.
Just before arriving in Medica, President Zelenski posted an exciting speech on Facebook, dressed in military attire and with his advisers, he said excitingly: “We are all here. Our soldiers are here. The citizens are here and we are here. We defend our independence, our country. That’s how it will happen.
“Glory to our defenders, men and women, glory to Ukraine.”
His advisers answered in one voice: “Glory to our heroes.”
Another man, who declined to give his name and who stopped when he returned to Ukraine from Poland, said: “I saw President Zelensky give his speech. He was there in Kiev with his advisers and talked about our brave soldiers, men and women who are fighting crazy.
“I have made sure that my wife and children are safe here in Poland and now I am returning to help in the battle. That’s the least I can do.
As he spoke, hundreds poured into Poland in the cold, eagerly grabbing cups of hot tea and coffee offered to them by local charities and volunteers.
Many had spent hours in long queues and closed roads that ran back more than eight hours from the border to Liv and Quiv.
Bottles of water as well as bars of fruit and chocolate were handed out, and the number of women and children passing by was almost obvious, with almost no men, after President Zelenski imposed martial law banning men aged 18-60 from leaving. country.
It says that this is “to ensure the defense of the state, maintaining combat and mobilization readiness of the armed forces of Ukraine and other military formations.”
Earlier, President Zelenski said: “We will give weapons to anyone who wants to defend the country. Be ready to support Ukraine in the squares of our cities. “
Medica shows people fleeing Ukraine as Russian forces attack the capital
View of the Polish-Ukrainian border at Medica as people flee Ukraine
They saved Anastasia Podhovna and Daria Rihiemova with their cat Siri
Law student Daria Rlhimova, 19, had left her boyfriend in Lviv to fight the Russians, and blinking tears as she crossed the border at Medica, she said: “People are scared, I’m scared, but our country is strong, we will fight and resist.
“I left my boyfriend to fight, my mother lives in Poland and is waiting for me here. I don’t know when I’ll be back and see my boyfriend, but we’ll talk every day. He fulfills his duty to his homeland, like other brave Ukrainians, and we are all proud of them.
“It took me 24 hours to cross the border, and while I was there, the Ukrainian authorities came to the border and said that all men between the ages of 18 and 65 had to return, and there were a lot of emotional scenes.
“The wives cried, saying they wanted to go with them, but the men said no, they had to go to Poland and they will get together again when it’s all over. I have seen some families even decide to return because they do not want to be separated. It was heartbreaking.
As she spoke, her friend Anastasia Pedhovna, 19, was standing next to her, sobbing, she was clutching a suitcase and carrying a basket with her pet Siri, Daria said: “I met this poor girl in the queue to cross the border. She is from Kiev and has been crying all day, she is terrified and scared.
“She was there when the explosions started and her family told her to leave and go to Poland, she doesn’t know anyone and she has nowhere to go. All he has is a suitcase with clothes and his cat, and that’s all thanks to Putin.
Law student Daria Rlhimova (right) comforts her friend Anastasia Podhovna after crossing the border at Medica