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Heartbreaking images show the terrible toll Russian invasion is taking on Ukrainian families

Russian troops raided Ukraine on Thursday, February 24 as President Vladimir Putin gave his green light to the special military operation

BY RITIKA SINGH

UPDATED FEB 25, 2022

Last goodbye kiss, Russian military operation causes panic in Kyiv as people flee (Twitter/ @AP)

Amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, heart-breaking pictures broke the internet as mothers and young children were seen bidding farewell to their family members. After Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed an order on Wednesday, February 23 for general mobilization, all men aged 18 to 60 were obligated to stay in the country even as their loved ones fled to safer neighbor nations.

UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said: 'We believe that some 100,000 people must have already left their homes and may be displaced inside the country, and several thousand have crossed international borders. The cars gathered at fuel stations, citizens taking shelter under the metro station, and the destruction of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv displays the panicky situation in the country fighting with Russia. People are unsure where to go and are gathering around the bus stations creating havoc."

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Traffic jams were seen as people left the capital city of Kyiv. Reuters reported that a 34-year-old technical manager from Mariupol crossed the border and got to Poland when he came to know about the war from his colleague.

"I don't have any feelings other than that I am very scared," Bazhanov said at the pedestrian border crossing, about 400 km from Warsaw. "I will visit my father in Spain but I don't have any money and I don't know how I will do that."

These photos captured by @AP photographers show people fleeing Kyiv, the nation's capital.

A woman holds her baby as she gets on a bus leaving Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling, as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A couple kiss goodbye before the woman boards a bus out of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A woman reacts as she waits for a train trying to leave Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

People walk in a subway to get a train as they leave the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Ukrainian soldiers stand guard as people try to leave at the Kyiv train station, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

People drag their suitcases as they arrive at a bus station to leave Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Local authorities urged Kyiv residents to stay at home.

The Kyiv City State Administration said in a message on its official Telegram channel, “Everyone who is not involved in the operation of the critical infrastructure and life support of the city, stay at home and be ready to follow to the shelter when the sirens turn on,” according to Aljazeera.

Russian troops raided Ukraine on Thursday, February 24 as President Vladimir Putin launched the “special military operation”. He also warned other countries not to interfere as it would lead to “consequences you have never seen.” Putin’s actions are being condemned both at the international level and in his own county. Ukraine's Twitter page compared Vladimir Putin to Hitler, claiming the President showed tendencies similar to the Nazi despot.