‘There was no chance of moving': tales of a days-long journey to leave Ukraine

Jordi Escura was awoken by three loud noises in the early hours of Thursday morning that reminded him of bombs that he would see in films and on television series. “Obviously I thought that it would be something different, that it could not be possible.” He did not realise that the country he was in was being invaded with military force. 

Escura is originally from Andorra and has been working as the fitness coach for the Ukrainian women’s national team since last year alongside head coach Lluís Cortés, the former manager of the FC Barcelona women’s team that achieved a historic treble last season.

In a phone call with his sister shortly after waking up, the gravity of the situation became immediately apparent. “From that moment, we had to hurry everything up, we tried to call everyone to get as much information as possible and try to decide the best option for us.” He and Lluís Cortés decided that getting out of the country as quickly as possible would be the best option, given the deteriorating situation.

With help from the Spanish embassy and from the Ukrainian Football Federation, they were able to start a journey of some 400km across the country in the direction of Lviv, where they arrived on Friday morning. In total, the journey took around 21 hours, and Escura admits he has barely been able to sleep an hour ever since being awoken by the bombs. 

“At first, inside Kyiv city center, the streets moved at a normal pace, we saw nothing exceptional. But as we approached the exit of the city, it was chaos,” he explains. Roads were completely jammed, even lanes that should have had traffic entering the city were full of vehicles trying to leave. “In the beginning, we were only able to move 10 meters every 20 minutes.” 

“Everybody was stopped, there was no chance of moving, so it was really really slow, and with this feeling that you need to move as fast as possible away from the city.”

Escura explains to Catalan News that he saw the “consequences of war,” rather than any direct conflict. “We saw plenty of people walking away from the city just carrying luggage, carrying bags. This is Kyiv, it’s like 5 degrees outside, you start walking, where do you finish? The night is coming, the degrees are lowering, I don’t know how they’re going to spend the night. It was a feeling like they were just going away, it was hard to see.”

On the journey, they also saw war trucks, tanks in position to defend Ukraine, and some fighter jets in the air above. However, this was all close to the capital, and as soon as they got out of the area, Escura says little signs of warfare were to be seen. After getting out of the metropolitan area of the Ukrainian capital, traffic lightened up and things moved much more fluidly. 

Reaching Lviv was objective number one, which Escura and Cortés managed at around 9 am on Friday morning. There, Escura says, “everything is much quieter.” When approaching the western city around 70km from the Polish border, they heard air sirens in the distance, but they found a city living in complete normality when they got there. “We’ve been able to leave the hotel, we’ve eaten out, there are people walking through the streets, cars driving normally,” he says. 

Objective number two is to now get out of the country. However, Escura says he can only speak with any certainty about “the next two hours,” as, naturally, the situation is constantly changing. Having been in touch with the Ukrainian Football Federation, he says there is a chance they could be able to leave on Friday evening – “the sooner, the better” – but all he knows is that he can’t be sure of anything.

Footballers sleeping in the metro

Escura and Cortés only arrived in Kyiv the day before the Russian invasion. The Ukrainian women’s national football team had been in Turkey for some days prior, playing in a tournament there. 

The group had been in contact with the federation in days leading up to their return, the prevailing feeling was that even though the situation was intensifying, it was still safe to return to Kyiv.  “When we returned from the tournament, we went out for dinner that night. People were walking through the streets, there was a completely normal feeling.” 

“There was no great sense of danger, more tension, but they have been going through this for eight years,” Escura says. 

That sentiment has now turned on its head, as Escura describes the “fear and worry” that his players have gone through since the invasion began. “Many have slept in underground metro stations out of fear. One player hasn’t been able to contact her family for an entire day. Two players’ parents have had to go to the front lines.” 

Escura knows he’s in a “lucky” position, being able to get out of the capital and soon, he hopes, on a flight back to Barcelona in the next few days. Yet, he can’t but describe the stories his players have told him as “disturbing.” 

Reaching Poland

By Saturday afternoon, Escura and Cortés made it safely into Poland after a 13-hour train journey from Lviv.

They hope to soon get a flight to Barcelona and see their families again. 

Creuat! Una odissea amb el tren, 13hores x 100kms, xo ja sóm a Polònia 🇵🇱

Cruzado! Una odisea de viaje en tren, 13 horas xa 100kms, xo almenos ya estamos en Polonia 🇵🇱

Crossed! An odyssey by train, 13hours for 100kms, but at least we’re in Poland 🇵🇱@Llcortes14 @uafwomen pic.twitter.com/XF4MeVNNou

— Jordi Escura (@EscuraJ) February 26, 2022

Don’t be fooled by our smiles, we’re happy for crossing the border but in the train there are only women and children. Their fathers and husbands stayed in Ukraine to fight in the war. You can see it in their faces. Heartbreaking

— Jordi Escura (@EscuraJ) February 26, 2022

Despite managing to cross the border into Poland, the queue at passport control has taken hours, with huge numbers of people waiting to pass through the security controls. 

La cua La cola The queue pic.twitter.com/04AeUGW5QZ

— Jordi Escura (@EscuraJ) February 26, 2022