With a downcast face, disheveled hair and two large bloody bandages on her cheek and forehead, Olena Kurilo says that the war for her was something from the books.
“We wrote poems about the war. We studied history, but we never thought that this would happen on our territory.
I never thought that it would happen in this life
, ”says the Ukrainian teacher with regret.
The deadly Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has already left more than 130 dead, including civilians, wiped out life as I knew it in less than two days.
“The house is completely destroyed.
There are no windows or doors.
One door even flew out.
I am very lucky, I must have a guardian angel who kept me alive”, she says.
Testimonies like that of this Ukrainian and the horror that Vladimir Putin's offensive brought to the neighboring former Soviet republic continue to go around the world, on the second day of the Russian invasion, while Moscow's troops seem determined to take the capital, Kiev .
Hundreds of civilians, horrified to see their lives in danger, began to flee during the first hours of the attack.
More than 50,000 Ukrainians have fled the country in less than 48 hours and many more are still looking for a way out to neighboring territories, according to the United Nations.
[Five key questions about why this conflict matters]
Most of the displaced are fleeing to Poland, Moldova, Romania and Hungary, while the European Union and the United States announced sanctions against Russia that do not seem to be having an effect.
An image of Olena Kurilo after she was injured in an airstrike that hit an apartment complex in the city of Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Anadolu Agency / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
One of those displaced families was that of Yurii Zhyhanov, who told The Associated Press that he woke up Friday to his mother's screams and found himself covered in dust.
Outside, the loud sound of shelling near his building in the capital.
"What are they doing? What's this?"
Zhyhanov exclaimed as he pointed to a damaged neighboring building.
Nearby, a young woman outside a monastery where she went to pray told the agency: “I don't want to die.
I want all of this to be over as soon as possible."
Russia has maintained that it is not aiming to attack cities, but the offensive appears to be being waged too close.
“We condemn Russian aggression”: NATO members meet to discuss the conflict in Ukraine
Feb. 25, 202202:09
Ukrainians are fleeing as best they can, amid the rubble, smoke and the rattle of car alarms.
Zhyhanov and his family were among those who packed up essentials and left.
“We are hearing reports of people being forced to flee their homes,” Joung-ah Ghedini-Williams, head of global communications for the UN refugee agency, said on Friday.
The official thanked "the governments and countries that keep their borders open and welcome refugees."
[Putin says he doesn't want to occupy Ukraine but "save it from the Nazis." This is how Russian war propaganda works]
The United Nations has projected that up to 5 million people could flee Ukraine (population over 44 million), as fuel, cash and medical supplies are already running short.
Ukrainian citizens after crossing the border between Ukraine and Poland, on February 25, 2022.Getty Images
"This is clearly a scary time for children across the country," said Afshan Khan, UNICEF's regional director for Europe and Central Asia.
"As we speak, there have been major attacks in Kiev that have created great fear and panic among the population, with families really scared, moving with their children into subways and shelters."
But not everyone is having the chance to flee to neighboring countries.
Ukrainian law prevents men between the ages of 18 and 60, who are eligible to join the army, from crossing the border.
For that reason, most of those who are fleeing to bordering countries are women and children.
“We left my husband there, so he is still supporting our government
,” a woman who gave her name as Iryna, who left Kiev for Slovakia on Thursday with her mother and two girls, ages 2 and 4, told Reuters. years.
“We are praying for Ukraine and we hope that everything will turn out well,” he said.