The plight and hope of Ukrainian and Russian refugees in Serbia

Around 150,000 Russians and 16,000 Ukrainians are currently living in the country.

Transcript

00:00 Thousands of Ukrainian refugees went to Serbia when the war started. Some of them then continued

00:05 to Western Europe. Others remained. In parallel, thousands of Russians decided to leave their

00:10 country and move to Serbia, mostly due to the forced conscription into the Russian army.

00:15 Serbian estimates say 150,000 Russians and 16,000 Ukrainians live in the Western Balkan

00:20 country. Zhenya moved to Serbia from Sakhalin, a city in the Russia`s Far East, just after

00:26 the war started and settled in Novi Sad.

00:28 When it all started, we felt very bad. We`ve been crying for a couple of days. And I felt

00:37 like being in a cage. I feel my - maybe not guilt, but responsibility, because in my name,

00:46 my country is killing people in neighboring country.

00:52 Due to EU visa requirements, Serbia considers the Russians as refugees.

00:59 The Ukrainians who remain in Serbia say they want to return to their country. Ivana`s husband

01:05 is currently in Kiev after one year fighting on the front.

01:09 We haven`t seen each other for two years. My mother and sister lived in Kamenets Podolskoye

01:29 in Serbia. But it`s better in Kutia.

01:37 According to the official figures so far, about 80,000 Ukrainians, refugees have been

01:42 going through Serbia and settled into the EU.

01:45 [BLANK_AUDIO]