Ukraine war: Zaporizhzhia locals flee Russia annexation
Every day, convoys of people arrive in a supermarket car park in Zaporizhzhia city, escorted in by police vehicles.
They've made the hazardous trip out of Russian-occupied territory in southern Ukraine, finally reaching the relative safety of this regional capital still firmly under Ukrainian control.
And yet this is one of four Ukrainian regions that Russia is formally annexing, after a five-day exercise it called a referendum and Ukraine and the West condemned as a sham.
Among those handing their papers to police is Anton Osenev, who says the Russians tried to mobilise him twice to fight against his own country, around his home city of Melitopol.
"We weren't home for the first attempt," he says. "On the second occasion they stayed at our house for some time".
Had it not been for his pregnant wife being in the room, they would have taken him, he believes. His father is in the Ukrainian army, and if he had been seized he would have been on the opposite side.
"I still don't understand what's happening, we need some rest."
Few here care about Moscow's declaration of annexation.
FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63076950
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