Antony Blinken.Photo: OLIVIER DOULIERY/POOL/AFP via Getty
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday visited with some of the women and children who have fled Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, speaking to refugees at a welcome center in Poland, near the border with Ukraine.
While visiting the center, 59-year-old Blinken — America’s top diplomat — heard from refugees about their terrifying journey to escape Ukraine as the attacks unfolded.
A 16-year-old named Jasmine Ahmadi told Blinken: “I was scared I would die,” theAssociated Pressreports.
Antony Blinken.OLIVIER DOULIERY/POOL/AFP via Getty
Her 12-year-old sister added that they had “crossed the border on foot” alongside their brother, six dogs and seven cats.
“Near our home we heard bombs,” Venera Ahmadi said, per theAP. “We walked to the border, I don’t know how many hours.”
“There they bombed planes at the airport,” Kadygrob said, theAPreports. “Of course we were afraid.”
The family was among more than 700,000 people who have crossed the border from Ukraine to Poland, “with more coming every single day,” Blinken said while speaking to reporters Saturday.
In his remarks, Blinken noted that Poland’s welcome of the refugees is “an incredibly powerful reflection of [the country’s] values that vulnerable people know that here, they will find refuge.”
In all, more than 1.7 million refugees have fled Ukraine in recent days,according to figures from the United Nations, since Russia’sattack on Ukrainebegan Feb. 24 — marking the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.
With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyycalled for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy vowed not to bend.
“Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,“he told the European Unionin a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
The secretary of state added that Poland’s hospitality toward the refugees was “very, very moving in and of itself.”
source: people.com
