Rostov 24/02/2022

Five days before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, amid reports of an impending war and Russia’s recognition of the independence of the self-proclaimed republics, thousands of refugees from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions fled to Russia. The main border crossing for refugees was the Matveyev Kurgan checkpoint, located in the village of Avilo-Uspenka. Those without financial support or relatives in Russia were forced to seek shelter in temporary accommodation centers (TACs). These centers were set up in various facilities, including children’s camps, sanatoriums, hotels, dormitories, and sports complexes.

The mass evacuation began on February 18, 2022, when Denis Pushilin, head of the DPR, announced the necessity for residents to evacuate to Russia, citing an alleged offensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Donbas. The following day, general mobilization was declared in the DPR and LPR, with men aged 18 to 55 prohibited from leaving the region. By the morning of February 19, over 1,200 people had arrived in Russia’s Rostov region.

According to UN data, by August 2022, around 1.97 million Ukrainians had entered Russia, nearly half of them refugees from the DPR and LPR. To accommodate them, 647 temporary shelters were established across 59 regions.

A mother of multiple children, Liliya Valiullina, along with her children from the city of Uglegorsk in the Donetsk region, evacuated to the Rostov region following intensified shelling, is seen in a temporary accommodation center for refugees set up in the sports hall of a rural cultural center in Lenin Hamlet, Rostov region, on February 22, 2022.

A child in a temporary refugee accommodation center set up in the cultural center of the village of Krasnogornyatsky, Rostov region, February 26, 2022.

Children watch cartoons in the library hall of the cultural center, which houses a temporary refugee accommodation center in the village of Krasnogornyatsky, February 26, 2022.

Svetlana and her 5-year-old son, evacuated from the village of Uspenka in the Luhansk region, are seen in a temporary refugee accommodation center located in a dormitory of DSTU in Shakhty, Rostov region. Svetlana lost her husband, who fought for the LNR. February 22, 2022.

Irina from the Luhansk region with her daughter in a temporary refugee accommodation center in a DSTU dormitory in Shakhty, Rostov region, February 22, 2022.

Larisa Minasyan from Stakhanov, Luhansk region, evacuated on February 20, 2022, holds her child in a temporary refugee accommodation center set up in the Aelita Hotel in Rostov-on-Don, February 22, 2022.

Secretary of United Russia's General Council, Andrey Turchak, carries Larisa Minasyan's child, who had run outside, back into the temporary refugee accommodation center at the Aelita Hotel in Rostov-on-Don, February 22, 2022.

A girl, Viola Valiullina, originally from Uglegorsk, Donetsk region, evacuated to the Rostov region with her mother, Liliya, after intensified shelling, in a temporary refugee accommodation center set up in the sports hall of the rural cultural center in Lenin Hamlet, Rostov region, February 22, 2022.

A mother of multiple children, Liliya Valiullina, with her daughter, originally from Uglegorsk, Donetsk region, evacuated to the Rostov region after intensified shelling, in a temporary refugee accommodation center set up in the sports hall of the rural cultural center in Lenin Hamlet, Rostov region, February 22, 2022.

Yelena Kirillovna, evacuated from the city of Antratsyt in the Luhansk region, is seen in a temporary refugee accommodation center set up in a cultural center in the village of Krasnogornyatsky, February 26, 2022.

A woman with children in a temporary refugee accommodation center set up in a dance studio of the rural cultural center in the village of Krasnogornyatsky, Rostov region, February 26, 2022.

A resident of the "Don Obitel" shelter assists at the humanitarian aid center for refugees located at the Church of the Protection of the Holy Virgin in Rostov-on-Don, February 26, 2022.

Ksenia, a volunteer at the humanitarian aid center for refugees at the Church of the Protection of the Holy Virgin, retrieves supplies from the warehouse in Rostov-on-Don, February 26, 2022.

A child's toy in a temporary refugee accommodation center set up in the sports hall of the rural cultural center in Lenin Hamlet, Rostov region, February 22, 2022.

Children evacuated with their mother, Oksana, from Rodakovo village in the Luhansk region, whose father was mobilized, in a temporary refugee accommodation center set up in the cultural center of Krasnogornyatsky, Rostov region, February 26, 2022.

Children in a temporary refugee accommodation center located in a DSTU dormitory in Shakhty, Rostov region, February 22, 2022.

Refugees cross a border checkpoint at the Russia-Donetsk border in Avilo-Uspenka village, Rostov region, on the day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, February 24, 2022.

Volunteers assist an elderly woman into a warming tent after crossing a border checkpoint at the Russia-Donetsk border in Avilo-Uspenka village, Rostov region, on the day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, February 24, 2022.

A woman with a child crosses a border checkpoint at the Russia-Donetsk border in Avilo-Uspenka village, Rostov region, on the day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, February 24, 2022.

A volunteer doctor examines a child while their mother, from Donetsk, speaks with Russian Senator Igor Kastyukevich in a tent near the border checkpoint in Avilo-Uspenka village, Rostov region, on the day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, February 24, 2022.