This Polish town is just miles from the Ukrainian border. Now it's at the heart of a refugee crisis

Full Episode Transcript 

With a population of just 60,000, the Polish city of Przemyśl finds itself at the centre of a humanitarian crisis, as thousands of Ukrainian refugees cross the border at nearby Medyka every day.

At the border checkpoint on the weekend, one woman clutched the hands of her two young children, and wondered why this was happening to her family, her country.

"We didn't do nothing bad to [Russia] — nothing," said Julia, who did not give her last name.

"We don't understand … why it's happened," she told The Current's Matt Galloway. 

The Current is in Poland, speaking to the people thrust into crisis, and the many volunteers and organizations trying to help. 

The Medyka border crossing is in southern Poland, about 80 kilometres west of the Ukrainian city of Lviv. The site has become one of the busiest crossings for refugees since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. The United Nations estimates that at least two million people have already been displaced.

"The whole world is stunned by this crisis," said Filippo Grandi, the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees, who was also in Przemyśl Sunday.

"My job is really to remind everybody, the Russian leadership, and all those involved in trying to find a solution that the human cost is unbearable, and this has to end so that people can resume their lives," he said.

Data from Polish authorities showed that more than 142,000 people crossed into Poland on the same day Julia crossed with her children, Vanya and Sophia.

With no easy access to a bomb shelter at their home in Brovary, just outside Kyiv, Julia felt she had no choice but to take her children across the border to safety. She's hoping to reach her sister in Italy, but had to leave her husband and father behind in Kyiv, to fight.

From Medyka to Przemyśl, with help along the way

There's medical attention on hand for the constant stream of refugees who come through the border gates at Medyka, and more basic needs are met by volunteers, like Tomas Paradowski. These helpers do everything from carrying bags, to arranging shelter and transport, to even just offering a hug.

"Sometimes we need to call their families in the Ukraine to tell [them] that everything is OK, that … they are safe," he said.

A reception and processing centre has been set up at a vacant big box store in Przemyśl, about 13 kilometres west of the border. 

If a refugee crossing at Medyka doesn't have someone to meet them at the border, they likely end up here, where volunteers help them figure out where they can go next, and how to get there. 

Wearing a high-vis jacket, volunteer Satnam Singh wanders through the crowd with a carafe of tea and a plate of cookies. He and his colleagues approach people who are lined up waiting for help, sometimes for hours. 

"We are going into the lines … asking them if they are hungry. It's just humanity," Singh said.

Citizens step up to help

Charities and organizations have set up shop at the processing centre, helping refugees find the transport and support they need to get somewhere safe.

Kristina Kallas volunteers at the centre with the Estonia Refugee Council, an NGO, helping to locate refugees who want to travel to that country, and putting them on waiting buses. The drive takes around 17 hours, cutting through Lithuania and Latvia to reach the Estonia's southern border, approximately 1,200 kilometres away.

"Generally there is people sponsoring them, either their family members, relatives or friends …  but we have also some people who just say that they want to go to Estonia," said Kallas, an Estonian politician and academic.

Kallas said much of the work at the processing centre is being done by individual volunteers, or by charities and NGOs like hers. 

"I think the response has been significant really from individuals, from just the citizens," she said.

Oskar Lange and his friends drove for 12 hours from Hamburg to reach Przemyśl. 

"When the war started, we asked ourselves, 'What can we do to help?' So we ended up collecting money and buying medicine and food and health-care stuff to bring here and on the way back, pick up people to bring them to Germany," said Lange.

They unloaded two vans worth of donations, then Lange walked around until he found a family in need of a ride to Hamburg. They all piled in, including Oksana, 12, who was a mix of excited, and in shock.

"I think it will be a very interesting trip. I never be in Germany — never be in Poland, never be in Germany!" she said.

In Przemyśl, planning the next move

Not all refugees leave Przemyśl immediately. 

In a school attached to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, classrooms have been turned into dormitories, with beds and belongings crammed into any available space. 

Natalia and Denislav, who are from Kharkiv but did not give their last name, have been staying here with their five children and their ginger tabby cat, Jomah.

Jomah has provided a welcome distraction for the children as their parents figure out their next move. Through a translator, they told The Current that they intend to travel 300 kilometres west to Katowice, in southern Poland, to find work and somewhere to stay.

But ultimately, the couple want to go home to Kharkiv, their "beautiful city," destroyed by "old crazy men." 

Kharkiv came under missile attack in the very first days of the war, including heavy damage to the city's Freedom Square on March 1.

Natalia was seven months pregnant when the bombing started, and went into labour. She said her baby died the next day.

Their son is buried in Kharkiv, but neither she nor Denislav know when they'll be able to get back there.

Written by Padraig Moran. Produced by Lara O'Brien, Liz Hoath, Karin Marley, Samira Mohyeddin and Lindsay Rempel.