Ukrainian refugees, anti-war Russians take shelter in open-armed Turkey

After taking in millions of Syrians displaced by war, Turkey, which is known as a safe haven for asylum seekers around the globe, is now welcoming tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees and Russian exiles to its historical lands.

Mothers who grabbed their children and fled as fast as they could, business owners, and couples wanting a better life spoke to Al Jaazera, relating about their harrowing journey and how the people of Turkey welcomed them with open arms.

36-year-old Ukrainian Kristina left Kyiv by car, traveling to the Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi with her mother and 3- and 16-year-old sons. Here, she made the sudden decision to go to Turkey, thinking she could take shelter with her ex-husband who lives in Istanbul. They boarded a bus, and finally arrived in Turkey’s metropolitan city of Istanbul one and a half days later. 

After living on the basement level of a building for a while, they found a modern apartment and settled down there with the support of volunteers. The family is now living there with another Ukrainian family rent-free after their benevolent landlord gave them three months to settle in.

25-year-old Russian motion designer Diana, who was living in St. Petersburg, traveled to Istanbul and started working in a small cafe. She earns 4 dollars a day—insufficient funds to pay her hostel fee, while unable to access her bank accounts after Western sanctions targeted Russian banks. 

“This is just a useless piece of plastic to me right now,” she said, retrieving a bank card from her wallet.

“As I understand, the owner of the hostel understood this was a mass refugee crisis and even canceled other people’s reservations so we wouldn’t be kicked out on the street,” she told Al Jazeera.

YouTuber and blogger Greg Mustreader, who fled from Moscow to Turkey with his girlfriend a week ago, stated that he plans to stay in Turkey for the time being, as he continues to produce content on YouTube and TikTok in both Russian and English.

“I feel that I have to try to do my best to at least do something to influence the situation in my country, even while being abroad,” he told Al Jazeera.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which began on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the European Union, US and UK among others implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 953 civilians have been killed during the war and 1,557 injured, according to a tally by the UN.

The international body warns, however, that the true toll is "considerably higher."

More than 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine amid the Russian attacks, according to the UN refugee agency.