INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Networks of anti-war volunteers are among those helping more than a million Ukrainian refugees inside Russia despite difficulties with
Veronika Timakina, a 19-year-old activist from the Russian city of Tver, 200 kilometers from Moscow, who had been organizing help for
in late February, with some given little or no choice about fleeing eastward rather than to Europe or relatively safe areas of western
But volunteers told The Moscow Times that the assistance is often ineffective or absent, and many of those fleeing Ukraine lack essentials
temporary centers housing about 150 people
Most of the refugees were from the once-bustling Ukrainian city of Mariupol that was reduced to rubble in almost three months of bloody
The things they offered were often not really needed by the refugees
No assistance is provided, neither legal nor even basic medical care
resident rides a bicycle in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.Nikolai Trishin / TASSDespite the Russian attack on Ukraine, some refugees prefer
thought we would mostly help refugees to leave Russia, but it turned out many of them were too scared to go somewhere or really wanted to
special Telegram bot with details of their location and where they want to go, volunteers coordinate drivers and cars, provide travel
information, and find places for overnight stays.Anti-war Russians who have left the country are particularly involved in this type of
They have also set up organizations including Helping to Leave and Volunteers Tbilisi that assist refugees evacuating from areas near the
unwanted attention from the police, security services and pro-Kremlin activists.Two volunteer-run Telegram groups helping refugees declined
Ukraine at a railway station in the port city of Nakhodka, 85km east of Vladivostok.Yuri Smityuk / TASSIrina Gurskaya, a volunteer helping
Ukrainian refugees in the Russian city of Penza, was briefly detained by police in April
questioning refugees about her organization
We were afraid of being accused of campaigning for something and putting others in danger
troops.Despite being forced to leave Russia, Timakina said she will not be dissuaded from continuing to help those displaced by the
