Aleksandra Kossowska – Photojournalist Based in Warsaw

On Thursday, February 24, 2022, at 3:45 AM, Vladimir Putin delivered a televised address in which he announced the beginning of a "special military operation" to defend the self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine. Russian troops crossed the Ukrainian border and began advancing deeper into the country.

In the first week of the war, over a million refugees from Ukraine – mainly women with children and elderly people – crossed the Ukrainian borders, seeking shelter in neighboring countries. A significant portion arrived in Poland, where they sought permanent assistance and refuge. According to the Border Guard, on February 24, 2022, 31,200 people arrived in Poland from Ukraine. On February 25, 47,500 people, on February 26, 77,300 people, and on February 27, 97,300 people crossed the border. On February 28, Border Guard officers processed over 100,000 people at all border crossings between Poland and Ukraine. The number of border crossings continued to increase until the second week of the war, reaching the highest values on March 6 and 7, when over 140,000 Ukrainian refugees were registered each day in Poland.