Ukraine residents take shelter in underground metro stations

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Ukraine residents took to underground metro stations to escape the first day of Russian military attacks on the country.

Photos showed hordes of residents and families – including elderly citizens and babies in strollers – spending the night in metro stations in Kyiv and Kharkiv.

Many are swaddled in blankets and warm clothing, and surrounded by bags of personal possessions.

Woman and little girl in underground metro station in Kyiv, Ukraine
EPACopyright: EPA
An overnight curfew was in place in Ukraine, and metro stations remained open to serve as bomb shelters.

Thousands of Ukrainians have left their homes to find safety in neighbouring countries – a figure the UN High Commissioner of Refugees estimates at more than 100,000.

Poland – which lies directly east of Ukraine – has also set up reception centres along its border in preparation for the influx of war refugees. (BBC)