Around 150,000 Russians and 16,000 Ukrainians are recently residing within the nation.
Since the battle started in Ukraine two years in the past, hundreds of Ukrainian and Russian refugees have fled to Serbia. While some persevered their adventure towards Western Europe, others selected to stick within the Western Balkan nation, searching for protection and balance clear of the war.
Zhenya arrived only a few weeks after the battle began from the Sakhalin Oblast within the east of Russia and settled within the college town of Novi Sad within the northwest of Serbia.
She isn’t happy with the battle in Ukraine – actually, reasonably the other.
“When the war started, we felt very bad,” she says of her scenario in February 2022. “We cried for several days. I felt like I was in a cage.
“I would possibly not really feel in charge, however I think chargeable for my nation killing other folks from a neighbouring nation in my identify.”
Because Russian citizens must obtain a visa to enter the EU, many who are keen to travel onward are prevented from doing so. This is a primary reason why most refugees who remain in Serbia come from Russia.
‘It’s nice in Serbia, but it’s nicer at home’
The Ukrainians still in Serbia, meanwhile, want to return to their country. Having fled the war, they long for their families and friends who stayed in Ukraine.
Ivanna Korniik’s husband is currently living in Kyiv after fighting at the front for a year. She wants to reunite with him, but the war means she cannot yet return home.
“I have never observed my husband for 2 years,” she says. “I lived with my mom and my sister within the town of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It’s great in Serbia, however it is nicer at house.”
Many Ukrainian girls are in a identical scenario, whose husbands are combating on the entrance or can not go away their place of origin because of the battle.
Many refugees from Ukraine proceed their adventure to the European Union to settle there till the top of the battle. According to legit figures, about 80,000 Ukrainian refugees have traveled thru Serbia to the European Union to this point.
