The long journey of Ukrainians fleeing the occupied zones: Moscow plans to impose Russian citizenship on everyone by next July.
It is a long, painful journey for all Ukrainians fleeing Russian-occupied areas.
In the town of Sumi, in northern Ukraine, an NGO welcomes displaced Ukrainians every day.
After passing checkpoints and crossing the two-kilometer-long buffer zone on foot, the train is the last stop.
Lidia Matrovytska comes from Luhansk with her son: “Well, the journey was, of course, difficult. It was very hard for my son. He constantly sat down and stopped walking. ‘Roma, move on,’ I told him. I pulled him by the hand. He had never walked such a long distance.”
The center provides temporary shelter and organizes travel within Ukraine.
Its director also fled the occupied areas.
Kateryna Arisoi, director of the non-governmental organization Pluriton: “I know how it feels when you lose your home, your life, your status, when you become like zero, when you lose your social status. You lose all confidence about what to do, how to live.”
Under Moscow’s rule, Ukrainians in occupied areas are supposed to take Russian citizenship by July 2024. The center expects many more people to flee their homes by then.
By next July, Moscow plans to impose Russian citizenship on all residents of occupied areas.
The Soumi reception center expects an influx of refugees.