The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered one of the largest population movements in Europe since World War II. As the Ukrainian army is fortifying the cities, many city dwellers have fled to the countryside, where they have discovered a rural population determined to resist for the long term.
Deserting cities for the countryside is a perennial reaction to war and Ukrainians are no different. Two weeks after the Russian attack began, more than two million Ukrainian refugees have fled to the European Union and Moldova. And a large, though not yet quantified number of displaced people have sought refuge in rural areas inside Ukraine, with relatives or in a second home.
