Videos shared on social showed black people being pushed off trains and animals being prioritised before people.

This time last month, Axel was an ordinary 20-year-old, studying computer science at a university in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Today in Brussels, Belgium, he is a refugee, and effectively stateless. He is also scarred from a harrowing journey from war torn Ukraine.

He told Euronews how he and his friends had to wait for hours to catch a train out of Kyiv because of the colour of their skin. When they reached the border, they faced abuse and exploitation.

“We were told to wait. He spoke aggressively, brutally with crazy gestures,” Axel said.

Videos shared on social showed black people being pushed off trains and animals being prioritised before people.

European countries, particularly those neighbouring Ukraine, have been praised for welcoming refugees but African nationals have detailed racism they’ve encountered as they too fled Ukraine.

“We are human beings too, our lives count,” Axel said.

More than 3.1 million people have now left Ukraine since Russia launched its military assault on 24 February, according to the UN Human Rights Office. It described it as the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

Change is a local Afro-Belgian association supporting Axel and 47 other students in limbo. They organised their transport from the Polish border and are helping gather clothes, shelter, set up language courses and also counselling to address the racism encountered.