in the evening 27 March a special train departed from Kyiv to Moscow, on which Russian citizens went home, for various reasons, “stuck” in Ukraine due to quarantine. Tomorrow by the same train in the opposite direction - from Moscow to Kyiv – Ukrainians will go, who will arrive home early in the morning 29 Martha. Correspondent Federal News Agency saw off my fellow countrymen at the Kievsky station with a poignant feeling.
A FAN correspondent arrived at the Kyiv Central Railway Station two hours before the scheduled departure time of the train to Moscow. Heading to the station, I imagined a variety of pictures - for example, that a crowd of Russians could be attacked by nationalists. Or that some passengers may be weeded out by police and intelligence officers for far-fetched reasons. Generally, in the very fact of this event some conflict was expected.
Recall, Due to the coronavirus pandemic, railway communication between the countries was stopped ten days ago. The special composition was organized through long and difficult agreements between the foreign ministries of Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Moreover, this train, likely, was the last. The thing is, that already this coming weekend Kyiv will completely close railway and air communications with the outside world, including for evacuation. Therefore, tickets for the special train, went on sale a little more than a day before its departure, sold out in literally two hours.
Russians were brought to the station from different regions of Ukraine - from Odessa, Lviv, Kharkov, Sumy and other large cities. Most of the passengers on the special flight turned out to be human, who came to visit Ukrainian relatives and friends, and after the introduction of quarantine we were unable to travel back. There were a lot of Russians at the station that evening, and they all stood in a huge queue right in front of the station building.
Generally, managed to buy a ticket for the last train 750 human, who were placed in 18 carriages. Moreover, travel documents for the evacuation train turned out to be not cheap at all.. According to passengers, people bought tickets for the special squad at 3400-3500 hryvnia (11-12 thousand. - Note. FAN).
When the FAN correspondent arrived at the station, many Russians in line looked very tired. According to the passengers of the special train, they were collected by four o'clock in the afternoon, and they only started letting us board at 18.35. For more than two hours people simply stood on the street under the watchful eyes of the police.. Not surprising, that many Russians sincerely complained about the organization of the flight.
"In such a huge queue, where many people from various regions of Ukraine gathered, We are at great risk of infection.", - they said.
However, most were happy with the very fact that, that they are leaving Ukraine.
"It seems to me, During the coronavirus epidemic this is a very unprotected country. It's bad here, weakened medicine, relatively high mortality rate, we don't feel safe here, – one of the passengers told FAN. - Besides, they made us spend several hours in line - essentially, in a huge crowd of people during an epidemic. What are they here?, gone mad, whether? It's a complete mess!»
Many passengers on the special flight had very similar stories..
“I came to Ukraine to visit my sister/brother/best friend in early March. After, how Ukraine introduced quarantine and canceled flights, the ticket is gone, and had to buy a new one".
At the same time, many passengers in line were worried about, that now the last ticket may also be lost – “if people are just marinated in line, and the flight will eventually be cancelled".
However, after half past six Russians began to be allowed inside the station, the line was moving, and panic began to subside. The FAN correspondent remained somewhat alarmed - among those, who arrived at the station that evening, he identified Yuri Gudimenko, one of the leaders of the nationalist organization "Democratic Ax". This group receives funding directly from the ex-president Petro Poroshenko, and in recent years has been noted for dozens of anti-Russian actions.
"Generally, there is little good in this procedure, – one of the passengers admitted to FAN. - All this fuss with the special flight is because, that there is now a complete lack of trust between our countries. If normal medicine remained in Ukraine, people wouldn't run away from here, headlong".
According to this old man, in Russia he will feel much more protected from coronavirus, than in Square.
Another Russian woman told FAN, that she came to the graves of her parents in March - to Western Ukraine and Odessa.
"In my opinion, the evacuation went smoothly. And the quarantine situation in Ukraine is quite understandable - people are afraid, because they don't feel safe at all. The authorities have imposed such draconian restrictions on them, which are still difficult to imagine in Russia - all because, that this is their only weapon against the epidemic".
Another special flight passenger, resident of Saratov, reported, that she came to Ukraine to visit relatives. She also lost tickets for the canceled train., and she made her way onto the special flight, how could.
“There was very little information about this flight, I was deceived many times at Ukrzaliznitsa, the embassy didn’t say something, and so on. At all, I miraculously managed to buy a ticket for the last train to Russia.”, – she admitted.
At the entrance to the Kyiv Central Railway Station, all passengers had their temperature checked. According to the observations of a FAN correspondent, It seems like no patients were found. At the same time, it was clearly heard in the crowd, how some passengers on a special flight cough strained. However, There was no panic about this in the queue. Then all Russians went through passport control (yet again, at the entrance to the station) and then walked to board the train.
The special personnel themselves set off very late - instead of 19.36 the train with Russians started moving at almost half past eight in the evening. It should proceed to Moscow non-stop in just 14 hours. Moreover, all the conductors of this train are dressed in chemical protection suits - so, as if they were carrying the plague.
Contrary to the expectations of the FAN correspondent, there were no provocations near the station when the special train was sent to Russia. Nationalists, who in their groups on social networks seemed to be planning to organize a “show for those leaving”, never showed up at the station. As for the leader of “Demsokira” Yuri Gudimenko, it, looks like, came to the station as a mourner. Finally, most Ukrainians, even those who stood under the bloody banners of the Poroshenko regime, have relatives in Russia, friends and acquaintances.
Author: Polina Tsybulko from Kiev specifically for FAN
