Northern Macedonia hosts group of refugees from Ukraine

First refugees from Ukraine have arrived in Northern Macedonia. It's about 15 people who moved to Ohrid and Struga after a long journey to flee, as they say, the horrors of war that have swept Ukraine from Russian aggression.

Among them are marriage mates Vladimir and Marija Orovska, with their six children, one of whom is two months old. They have fled the town of Zaporozhye in southeastern Ukraine, where according to Vladimir there has been fierce fighting.

We've suffered a lot, so we can't stay any longer. There we had a house that we had started to build five years ago. We also had our own business, but we couldn't stay, and on March 15th, we left the” house, he says, adding that out of all the goods they had raised with effort, they took a single suitcase.

Our home was near airport and military facilities. Every day we heard explosions and shootings from February 24th at 5: 00 a.m. were heavy moments”, says Vladimir Orovski, a refugee from Ukraine.

Concerning the horrors of war, but also about leaving home, his wife, Mary, relates:

“Bundries were so heavy that the whole house was shaking. The explosions took place just a few miles from our home, but they were heard to fall into the courtyard. Somehow we managed to escape after various groups of armed people began to appear, roadblocks blocked, bombarded everything. We left with the clothes we had in our body. From here we went to our relatives in the western part of the country where we stayed for a week, and from there we settled”.

Another refugee is Olga Kosicenko of the town of Poltawa, located 60 miles [100 km] from Harkiwi. She says that for days she and her family stayed in the basement of the house until they managed to evacuate on a train loaded with civilians leaving their homes because of fighting.

It got worse because the situation began to get heavier. We've been in the basement for days until we got away. We left on a train that evacuated the endangered population. They were volunteers with whom we first settled in Warsaw, Poland,”.

The rent was expensive [in Warsaw], we were asked for 1,000 dollars a month, and we had to pay in advance for three months.

But we couldn't stay there because the situation was chaotic by the large number of refugees. The rent was expensive, we were asked for 1,000 dollars a month and we had to pay in advance for three months. We came here through contacts on social networks because we've been on vacation since”, Olga says.

These refugees say that they need help with food and clothing but are also willing to work if they are given the opportunity.

“Institutions that are committed to accommodate refugees have provided a number of beds and are working on providing additional capacity for potential refugees from Ukraine”, the Government's announcement said.

In addition to the Government, hotel facilities have offered to help with refugee housing, while various humanitarian organisations have continued with the relief action not only for refugees but also for the population in Ukraine.

Northern Macedonia has condemned Russian aggression in Ukraine, while joining the sanctions the European Union has imposed on Russia. / REL