Empty strollers left by Polish mothers, women's associations at train platforms for Ukrainians escaping Russian invasion

KUALA LUMPUR ― Mothers and women's associations in Poland are leaving strollers at train platforms for Ukrainians to use as they make their way to Poland to escape the Russian invasion.

A picture of the empty strollers taken by photographer Francesco Malavolta has gone viral on social media and shared by celebrities.

Speaking to Insider, Mr Malavolta said he captured the heart-breaking image on March 3, at the Przemysl train station in Poland, just 12 kilometres from Ukraine's border.

The strollers, said Mr Malavolta, were brought to the platform by local mothers and women's associations before it was taken by those who needed them.

“The arriving women left their strollers in Ukraine to speed up the journey and because many of them were traveling without husbands because they remained fighting,” Mr Malavolta reportedly said.

The war photographer said one of the women left a stroller on the platform and had also delivered baby gear to a local school.

The Polish mother told Mr Malavolta she was happy to donate the gear out of solidarity with the incoming people from Ukraine.

The image of the strollers awaiting refugee families captured a moment of calm in a sea of uncertainty and human suffering, said Mr Malavolta.

“The thing that struck me before taking the photo was the absence of people around, while two meters away there were miles of people. It seemed surreal. I thought of them both about the solidarity of those who brought the strollers and the dramatic stories of mothers fleeing the war,” he added.

Mr Malavolta's stunning image has been shared by mothers all over the world, including celebrities like Amy Schumer and Glennon Doyle.

An estimated one million Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Poland since the war started on February 24. MALAY MAIL