By Andrius Sytas

TALLINN (Reuters – Pavel fled from his native region of Kherson in the south of Ukraine and set his sights to reach Portugal. But, as increasing numbers of other escaped the conflict, he went the hard way.

Too afraid to leave the Russian-controlled territory and travel west across conflict’s frontline, his wife, and child, avoided it and traveled east into Crimea before heading north through Russia. They eventually entered the EU via Estonia after a journey of over 3000 km (1 860 miles).

The journey took them 90 hours on buses and trains. They reached Tallinn in the wee hours of Thursday.

According to Reuters, the 38-yearold, looking tired and slow, stated that he couldn’t even consider going through the “war zone” where each side shoots at the other.

It was frightening to imagine traveling through Russia where people don’t seem to be welcoming to us.

“We made it a point to never get off the bus or train, and we took every opportunity to catch the next one. Because you don’t know where you could get stuck.”

Pavel asked the volunteers to help him book a ticket for his family to Warsaw on the next bus. He hoped to then travel towards Lisbon. He said that his little girl, who was sleeping in a stroller and hugging a knitted bunny, didn’t know how difficult it is to travel with young children.

CAPACITY DOUBLE

According to authorities in Estonia, more than 19,000 Ukrainians are believed to have entered Estonia through Russia since February.

Everyday departures to Saint Petersburg increased in size during this period. These, along with two daily buses that run for 23 hours from Moscow and Riga, remain among few scheduled services between Russia, Europe, and Russia.

Due to lengthy delays on processing documents from Ukrainian refugees at the Russian border, most arrive in the evening. Pavel’s experience was that it took more than two hours for his paperwork to be processed and also included a check of his cell phone.

Tallinn’s bus station offers a comfortable place to sleep with 9 beds. It also has hot soup available for anyone who needs it.

Airika Aruksaar (chief bus station) said that many people will settle down on the stations floor and benches to wait for sunrise because they are frequently all used up.

According to her, the first Eastern Ukrainian refugees arrived in Tallinn late March. Since then, their number has been increasing steadily, as well as those fleeing through Poland.

She said that nine out of ten Ukrainians reaching Estonia seek onward travel.

Many people arrived late Wednesday night and Thursday morning to tell Reuters that they wanted to quickly move forward after their uneventful travels through Russia.

However, for many people the feeling of losing a country that was ravaged remains overwhelming.

I just want to get back. Olga Fyodorova (69), who was preparing to spend the night at the dormitory in the bus station, said that she wanted to die in Ukraine after having traveled from Luhansk, Russia, with Herman, her 43-year-old son.

“I want it all to stop.”