Pawlohrad transit center serves as hub for 67,000 refugees

The city of Pawlohrad, located approximately 70 kilometers from the front lines in Ukraine, has become a critical transit hub for displaced persons. Over the past two years, more than 67,000 people have passed through the local transit center.

Lilja Semlianaja, a 36-year-old former regional bank manager, now leads the transit center for the Relief Coordination Centre. She transitioned to humanitarian work following the Russian invasion to assist those fleeing the Donetsk and Dnipropetrowsk regions. Semlianaja describes the profound transformation of her hometown, which has shifted from a residential city to a central point in the flight stories of thousands of people carrying their lives in suitcases and backpacks.