LVIV, Ukraine — The mayor of Lviv on Monday called on international support as Ukraine’s western bastion strains to take in floods of people fleeing advancing Russian armies.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have fled to the city since the beginning of the invasion, and many expect more waves of refugees as clashes intensify in several major cities. Lviv, which so far remains well apart from the violence in center and eastern Ukraine, has emerged as a major staging center behind the front lines for the resistance to Russian forces.
“I would like to address all of the international organizations to ask for support,” Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said through a translator Monday. “We need you now, and we need you here.”
The nearly 2-week-old war in Ukraine has created the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. More than 1.5 million have crossed the Ukrainian border into neighboring countries, where the international community has rallied to support those fleeing constant shelling and intense ground offensives.
Hundreds of thousands have fled into Lviv. The city, less than 50 miles from the Polish border, has been spared much of the heavy fighting that has overcome cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol. Lviv has converted more than 440 municipal buildings to house more than 200,000 refugees in recent days.
“This, of course, has put a lot of pressure on us,” Mr. Sadovyi said. “We are working to the full [extent] of our capacity.”
SEE ALSO: Russian shelling intensifies as Ukrainian citizens still trapped in cities
Mr. Sadovyi said the city has a particular need for heated tents to provide shelter.
Residents have started opening their doors to strangers. Hotels throughout Lviv are completely booked.
Most expect the humanitarian crisis to worsen. As Ukrainian and Russian negotiators haggle over cease-fires to allow civilians to escape cities in eastern Ukraine under siege, officials fear Lviv could reach a breaking point.
For now, the city serves as a welcome refuge from the worst of circumstances. With men ages 18 to 60 prohibited from leaving Ukraine, the city is often the last opportunity for families to stay together in relative safety.
Iuriy, a 51-year-old musician from Kyiv who did not want to provide his last name, fled to Lviv by train with his wife, Svitlana, 49, and their two children late last week.
The couple said they visited Lviv years ago for their anniversary and always wanted to return. “We didn’t think that we would return in such an awful time,” Iuriy said.
SEE ALSO: Moscow seeking to hire Syrian mercenaries for its war against Ukraine
Still, he said, Lviv offered a small sense of normalcy in a country at war.
The picturesque city has centuries-old architecture surrounding its cobblestone central square. Many businesses that closed during the first few days of the Russian invasion had reopened by this weekend, with store shelves stocked. The long courtyard outside the opera house is again filled with people taking afternoon strolls.
“It’s almost like in normal times,” Iuriy said. “In Kyiv, the situation is awful.”
That sense of normalcy has its limits, he said, and some fear a time when there is no option but to flee the country.
The occasional air raid siren reminds those in Lviv that Ukraine is a country at war. Volunteers have begun covering the city’s statues in large white tarps and installing metal screens to protect stained-glass windows.
“Right now, the situation is calm here, for sure,” said 32-year-old Lviv resident Skladan Oksana. “But the situation is not so stable. It could change at any hour, any minute. We don’t know.”
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.