Most of the 61 passengers on the bus were destinations in Germany or Poland. Ukrainian Oksana Radionova (31 years old) rode the bus in Maastricht. She said she was going back to her home in Kyiv because she was unable to find shelter for her three cats. She said they still had enough to eat and drink. Her father was supposed to take care of the animals, but he also fled west a week later. “I have no other choice,” Oksana said. “I panic. Bombs fall on the city at night, but I can’t give up on my cats.”
Ended up in Holland through all kinds of wanderlust. “First with this train through hell, from Kyiv to Lviv, where frightened people are fighting for everywhere they flee. Then it crossed Slovakia to Germany, but everything was full and so I ended up in Utrecht and Maastricht.
Hopes you can stay in Kyiv. But if the bombs fall close, I have to leave again. Then I’ll take my cats.”
A man from Belarus also boarded this bus. He told in broken English that he was staying in Brussels but had to leave the country to go home. I swear “Not to Russia.”
back again
According to the transport company FlixBus, the number of people leaving Ukraine is still stable, but more and more people are returning to their homeland. The situation is safe enough to drive FlixBus to western Ukrainian destinations. According to Oksana, there are only a few people who have returned from the Netherlands. “Most of those who fled Kyiv have already returned home,” she said.
The first bus left on Monday evening from Maastricht towards Warsaw, where the tour group is expected on Tuesday evening around 6.20 pm. There, passengers have nearly five hours to catch their breath or move on to other destinations. There are also flights from Warsaw to Lviv.
At approximately 11:15 p.m., the journey continues to Kyiv, with the bus expected to be at 3:40 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. According to the bus company, it takes travelers about forty hours to get to Kyiv from Maastricht.
