On Thursday 24 February Russian tanks and troops started to move into Ukraine in the early hours of the morning. The invasion sparked a mass movement of people trying to leave the Ukraine for bordering countries in the west, and whilst cars and trains played a part in this movement, so did coaches, and they continue to do so today.
FlixBus has been operating in Ukraine since 2019 and has developed a network which serves 29 destinations within the country plus and connections to 70 international destinations in eight countries. The company has 32 employees located in Kyiv and Kharkiv, and the operator said it was in continuous close contact with them, and helping them and their close ones in any way possible.
FlixBus said it has been monitoring the situation in Ukraine and at the Ukrainian-Polish border and since 25 February has been offering additional connections to and from Przemyśl in the south east of Poland to provide more people further travel options. The operator and and its operating partners are also transporting goods and supplies to people in need.
Since 27 February FlixBus has been providing free tickets for Ukrainian citizens. The operator is now sending 40 coaches free of charge to the Ukrainian-Polish border. 1.000 free tickets were donated via an employee initiative within the first 15 hours and have been doubled by the FlixBus management. The firm said it is monitoring the situation closely and will increase the number of journeys if necessary.
