Ukraine: What's happening to child refugees?

It's been more than two months since Russia invaded Ukraine and war in the country began.

An estimated 11 million Ukrainian people have now left their homes, according to the United Nations.

Some have moved to different areas in Ukraine, while others have fled to neighbouring countries like Poland - which has received the largest number of refugees.

Newsround reporter Jenny has travelled to Poland to meet Ukrainian children and to hear their stories of escaping the ongoing conflict and their hopes for the future.

Kir's story

Kir enjoyed playing football before the war began

I met 13-year-old Kir at a help centre in the Polish city of Przemyśl, a short drive away from Poland's border with Ukraine.

Thousands of people arrive here every day.

The centre is safe, you can get some rest and free food and drink, but it's packed with people and it's not somewhere you'd want to stay for very long.

He's spent three weeks here, after leaving everything he knew behind.

Kir travelled to Poland with his mum, but because men between the ages of 18 and 60 have been banned from leaving Ukraine - so they can fight for the army there - Kir's older brother was forced to stay behind.

Kir told me he enjoyed "playing with friends and playing football" before the war began and although he's happy he's in Poland, he wants the war to end so he can be back with his brother.

"The only hope I have is that it will end soon and I can see my brother," he said.

Kir isn't alone in leaving loved ones behind - many families have had to make the difficult decision to separate.

Marsha's story

Marsha's been waiting for a visa to travel to the UK to stay with family

Marsha is 12-years-old and arrived in Poland with her sister, aunt and cousin. Her parents are still in Ukraine.

She told me that she was surprised when she heard that Russia had invaded her country.

"At first I thought it was some kind of joke but then my mother told me to pack my suitcase and then I said goodbye," she told me.

Marsha has been in close contact with her parents.

"We are talking on the phone all the time. We miss each other."

Marsha is staying at the same help centre as Kir, while she waits for permission to travel to the UK to stay with family.

She hopes to settle into normal life in the UK.

"Of course I'm planning to go to school. I can't expect anything because I've never been there, it's going to the unknown place."

But Marsha also wants to return to Ukraine once the war is over.

"I'm planning to come back. Once it's over, we want to go back," she told me.

Liza's story

It took 11-year-old Liza more than a day to make the journey to Poland

When I first meet Liza in the Polish city of Kraków, she had only crossed the border from Ukraine with her mum a few hours earlier.

It was a dangerous and difficult journey - they'd spent more than a day travelling.

Liza said: "The waiting on the train was the hardest part. We'd spent 12 hours at the station before the train arrived.

"There were 1,500 people at the station - mostly mothers and kids."

When she arrived in Poland, she received a warm welcome from local people.

"Once we crossed the border Poles met us, they fed us and they treated us well. I got a present from a girl - there were two cards with supportive messages and sweets. I got a very warm feeling, it was nice that someone thought of me and gave me presents."

In the beginning, she found the news about the war hard to understand, but now she says she's feeling positive about the future.

She said: "I cried a lot - to leave everything behind like that - it was difficult.

"But eventually I understood that I don't need to cry any more and that everything will be fine and everything will be great."

Liza and her mum are still waiting for their visa to travel to the UK.

Polina's story

Polina and her little sister Taisiia on the plane from Poland to the UK

Fifteen-year-old Polina, her younger sister Taisiia, 5, and their mum Svetlana are on the way to safety - to live with a family in the UK.

They left their home in Eastern Ukraine a month ago.

I first met them at the airport in Poland as they were preparing to start their new life in the UK and I went to visit them a few weeks later in England to see how they were getting on.

Even though Polina has only been here a short time, she's enjoying living in the UK and has recently started at a local secondary school.

"I really like it here, everything is like in a movie here, like in a fairytale," she said.

She's also been keeping in touch with her friends from Ukraine.

"We speak every day, we share our stories and tell each other what's happening."

She speaks to her father and brother, who stayed behind in Ukraine, every day.

All the children I've spoken to want to go back to Ukraine as soon as they can, but until that's possible they're relying on other countries for help.

Countries in the European Union have given Ukrainians fleeing the war the right to stay and work.

But Ukrainians wanting to take refuge in the UK can only do so if they're approved for a visa and many have complained that the process of getting one is too slow and complicated.

Polina is now in the UK and has started school here

The government say that they're doing everything they can to support those fleeing Ukraine.

They told me they have sent staff across the European Union to provide advice and support for those applying for visas, and that more than 95,500 visas have been issued so Ukrainians can live and work in the UK.

The Home Office says it has made the system more straightforward and has sped the process up.

Polina, Marsha and Kir have now arrived safely in the UK - but other children like Liza are still waiting.