Ukrainians in Romania help new refugee arrivals

BUCHAREST, Romania — Elena Trofimchuk fled Ukraine to Romania more than a month ago.

She now considers Bucharest’s North Railway Station her second home.

She doesn’t live there, but it’s where she spends most of her day welcoming fellow Ukrainian refugees escaping from Russia’s war and helping them sort out tickets, accommodation and onward destinations.

The 26-year-old said that keeping herself busy and useful keeps her from dwelling on Russia’s shelling of her hometown, Odesa, where many of her friends remain. If you don’t do anything, you could become insane. You’re always looking for new information. It’s very difficult. So I’m here to help people find accommodation and buy tickets. Trofimchuk stated that she even helps Romanians in the kitchen.

She was a photographer before the conflict in Ukraine.

Trofimchuk is just one of many orange-vested Ukrainian volunteers working at the station.

Ukrainian volunteer Vitalii Ivanchuk flew all the way from Sri Lanka where he lived with his Ukrainian girlfriend to help refugees coming into Romania.

The 29-year-old IT developer said that many Ukrainians have a tough time communicating with Romanians, and volunteers who can speak both Ukrainian and English are in high demand. His girlfriend Anastasiia Haiduk quit her investment job shortly before the war began and decided to volunteer at this station until the war is over and she can be reunited in Ukraine with her family. The Romanian government offers free train tickets to Ukrainian refugees who arrive in Romania. They can then travel to Hungary, Austria and Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Switzerland.

Trofimchuk said she was moved by the warm welcome and the Romanians’ show of solidarity with Ukraine.

” Every Romanian wants to help. They are very friendly. This surprised me. Trofimchuk stated that he was so happy that everyone wants help.

Nearly 5.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of Russia’s war on Feb. 24, according to data from the U.N. refugee agency.

Most have entered countries on Ukraine’s western border: more than 3 million people have fled to Poland, while more than 817,000 others have fled to Romania and around 520,000 have crossed into Hungary, UNHCR statistics show. Some volunteers from Ukraine participate in a weekly protest at the Russian Embassy in Bucharest with both Ukrainians and Romanians every Saturday night. After the Russian missile attack on Odesa, a southern Ukrainian port city on Black Sea coast,

Station volunteers say they are seeing more people arrive from Odesa.

But Trofimchuk said she didn’t attend a protest and expected people to come from her hometown. Trofimchuk stated that she will remain at the station until the end because there might be people in need of my assistance.”

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More AP coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine and migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration