‘This is my country’: As Ukrainians flee Russian invasion, some return home to fight

The Russian invasion has already driven more than a half-million refugees into neighbouring countries like Poland, but a steady stream of Ukrainians are also heading home.

As cars and buses packed with refugees crossed the Ukrainian border into southeast Poland, Vasil Maksumovich was going the other way.

Lugging a travel bag, he made his way on foot toward the Medyka border post.

After depositing his wife and two kids with an aunt in Germany, he was returning to Ukraine to fight.

“This is my country,” said the 24-year-old, who works in the transport business. “War is difficult, but this is my country. I must come back.”

The Russian invasion has already driven more than a half-million refugees into neighbouring countries like Poland, but a steady stream of Ukrainians are also heading home.

While the line of vehicles waiting to enter Poland through the Medyka crossing was backed up for several kilometres, the numbers entering Ukraine on Tuesday appeared at times to outpace those fleeing.

Pulling rolling suitcases behind them, many arrived in groups of three or four. They seemed in a rush, and sobered by the uncertainty that awaited them in a country suddenly under attack.

“I’m angry,” said Lubomyr, a Ukrainian who was living in Italy when President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to topple Ukraine’s government.