Europe

Railcars used as shelters for displaced people in Ukraine

Kunihiko Miura/The Yomiuri Shimbun
Olga Oleynuk takes a seat on a train car in Irpin, Ukraine, on Wednesday.

By Kunihiko Miura / Yomiuri Shimbun photographer

16:08 JST, June 19, 2022

IRPIN, Ukraine — Some Ukrainian Railways’ carriages were repurposed earlier this month as shelters for displaced people in Irpin, a Kyiv suburb.

Russian troops temporarily occupied Irpin, and many residents have lost their homes. The city authority and the company have provided bedrooms, showers and other facilities in seven cars that will make up the shelter.

About 100 people can live in the shelter at maximum, and 20 people moved in Wednesday when it opened.

Kunihiko Miura/The Yomiuri Shimbun
Ukrainian Railways’ train cars are seen in Irpin, Ukraine, on Wednesday.

Olga, 78, who moved in with her daughter’s family, had been living in an apartment with her family after her house was destroyed by Russian shelling.

Her daughter and her husband lost their jobs and could no longer afford to pay rent, even with Olga’s pension, so they decided to move into the shelter.

Olga said, “I’m very happy to have a place to stay because I do not want to leave Irpin.”