KYIV — They threw themselves, and whatever possessions they were able to take with them, onto the departing train Monday at Kyiv’s central railway station as Russian forces continued to inch closer to the capital city.
In the chaos, a young mother was separated from her daughter when a police officer hoisted the girl onto the train, but it began rolling away before the woman could jump on. As she let out a blood-curdling howl, the woman ran alongside the moving car until she was able to grab the outstretched arm of another man who yanked her on board. A pink unicorn backpack the mother had slung over her shoulder didn’t make it and tumbled to the tracks.
Thousands of other Ukrainians and foreigners desperately trying to flee Kyiv on Tuesday were left stranded in the freezing cold, largely without food and water, and wondering whether they would be lucky enough to secure a few square inches on some of the last trains out of the Ukrainian capital before Russian forces encircled the city and prepare to pound it with missiles and artillery fire.
In fact, as they gathered, Russia was threatening to fire missiles on government buildings and installations, including one belonging to the Security Service of Ukraine. Just two hours after BuzzFeed News’ visit to the station, Russian missiles struck the Kyiv TV tower, killing five civilians and wounding five others.
BuzzFeed News has a team on the ground in Ukraine. Follow Chris Miller, Isobel Koshiw, and Pete Kiehart’s reporting on Twitter and read all of their work here.
The United Nations said that more than 660,000 Ukrainian civilians have fled to neighboring countries since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his latest invasion six days ago. The international agency warned that the flood of people leaving the country could quickly become “Europe’s largest refugee crisis this century.”
Beneath the golden chandeliers and delicate mosaics adorning the baroque walls of the Kyiv station, many thousands more scrambled to join them. But nobody knew when trains would arrive or depart or who would be let on or be turned away, although it was mostly older people, women, and children who were given priority.
