Ukrainians Across Europe Live Between Hope and Uncertainty Four Years After War Began

Post by : Saif Nasser

Four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians remain scattered across Europe. What began as a short escape from danger has turned into a long and uncertain wait. Families are living between two worlds — the home they left behind and the new lives they are trying to build.

The war, which started on February 24, 2022, created Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War Two. According to United Nations figures, more than 5 million Ukrainians are now living in European countries. Many first believed they would return home within weeks. Instead, years have passed.

Maryna Bondarenko, a 51-year-old journalist from Kyiv, is one of them. She fled to Poland with her son and mother when Russian forces began their attack. Even now, she keeps three suitcases packed in her apartment. She says she is ready to return as soon as peace comes.

Bondarenko works in a Ukrainian-language newsroom in Warsaw. Poland is home to more than 1.5 million Ukrainians. She speaks often about the hope of going back. Many times, she thought the war was close to ending. She packed boxes and prepared to leave. But fresh waves of missile strikes and power cuts in Kyiv made her change her mind.

Her husband, Andrij Dudko, remains in Ukraine. He serves as a drone operator on the front line. Under martial law, men of fighting age are not allowed to leave the country. Like many refugee families, hers is divided by war.

Most Ukrainian refugees in Europe are women and children. Many young people are growing up far from the cities and schools they once knew. Bondarenko’s 11-year-old son, Danylo, now feels more connected to Poland than Ukraine. He remembers little about his old life. He has faced some unkind treatment at school but says he does not think he will return to Ukraine.

In cities such as Warsaw and Krakow, large Ukrainian communities have formed. While many local people have offered help and support, there have also been tensions. Some residents worry about jobs and welfare benefits.

In Turkey, a smaller number of Ukrainians have also started new lives. Iryna Kushnir fled to Istanbul at the start of the war. She thought she would stay only a short time. Today, she is married to a Turkish man and works as a teacher at Istanbul University. She says life took a different path than she expected.

Her friend Olga Yermolenko also lives in Istanbul and works remotely for Ukrainian clients. Her elderly mother still lives in Kharkiv, a city often hit by attacks. Yermolenko follows news from home closely and calls her mother during missile strikes. She says it is frightening to watch events unfold from afar, feeling both connected and distant at the same time.

The government of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hopes that around 70% of Ukrainians abroad will return after the war ends. However, surveys suggest that as time passes, fewer people plan to go back. Many have found jobs, schools, and new communities in their host countries.

The longer the war continues, the harder the decision becomes. Returning means facing a country changed by destruction and loss. Staying means building a life far from home.

For millions of Ukrainians across Europe, the future remains unclear. They live with hope in their hearts but uncertainty in their daily lives. Until peace arrives, they remain caught between memory and possibility — waiting for the day when they can finally unpack their suitcases for good.