Tears rolling down his face and his voice breaking with emotion, this little boy describes the fear and grief suffered by hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children now separated from their families because of the Russian invasion.
Mark Goncharuk was interviewed as he headed west from Kyiv having just said goodbye to his father, who decided to stay behind to defend the capital from Putin’s forces.
The little boy, believed to be no more than eight years old, was rescued by the side of a road around three days walk from the Polish border. Exhausted, he was interviewed by a Finnish journalist, who he thanked ‘for saving us’.
Trying to blink away his tears before breaking down, he said: ‘We left dad in Kyiv and dad will be selling things and helping our heroes, our army. He might even fight’.
Others on the minibus heading out of Ukraine are also seen crying as he says to the reporter: ‘We’ve been walking for many hours and you saved us. We thought we would have to walk for many days. You helped us’, even managing a tiny smile for those who picked him up. It is not clear if he is with any other members of his family.
The heartbreaking video epitomises the human tragedy unfolding in Ukraine where more than 500,000 people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded the country last week, according to the UN refugee agency.
The latest, and still growing count, had 281,000 people entering Poland, more than 84,500 in Hungary, about 36,400 in Moldova, over 32,500 in Romania and about 30,000 in Slovakia, UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said. There are queues of more than 25 miles for vehicles trying to leave Ukraine’s borders with the West.
There are also hardly any trains, meaning many thousands are just walking instead.
The rest were scattered in unidentified other countries, she said. Another train carrying hundreds of refugees from Ukraine arrived early on Monday in the town of Przemysl in southeastern Poland.
Ukrainian boy Mark Goncharuk breaks down as he describes leaving his father behind in Kyiv where he will fight the Russians
But the brave little boy managed a smile for the journalists who rescued him from the side of the road as he walked away from the Ukrainian capital
In winter coats to protect them against near-freezing temperatures, with small suitcases, they lined up at the platform to the exit.
Some waved at the cameras to show they felt relief to be out of the war zone. Many were making phone calls.
Viktoria and Diana Petrova are the lucky ones that escaped the bloodshed and made it into Poland – but it was an arduous journey to safety.
They spent the first night of Vladimir Putin’s bombardment sleeping rough with their family in a car park in Kyiv.
But last night the teenagers and their mother, Elena, 46, took shelter at one of the nine centres that have been set up by Polish officials for Ukrainians fleeing the bloodshed. The centre is in Korczowa, which is close to the border between Poland and Ukraine.
‘It wasn’t safe to sleep in the basement,’ the visibly exhausted 19-year-old Viktoria said. ‘The only alternative was the metro but there was no space.’
The family, who are from Zaporizhzhia in south-eastern Ukraine, spent two days stuck in traffic trying to escape before walking over the border into Poland.
Ukrainian refugees who cross on foot are picked up on buses by border guards. Some have even been ferried by ordinary Poles who have volunteered to help.
The family described how locals here have answered the call of duty to help their neighbours as they flee Russia’s military assault.
‘On the border, Polish people were waiting with a lot of food and warm clothes,’ Diana, 14, said as she sat on her makeshift bed in the refugee camp, which used to be a shopping centre. Mrs Petrova smiled with appreciation as she spoke of the kindness that has been shown. The family told the Daily Mail that they had been offered a lift by a stranger to Lubin, a six-hour drive, close to the German border.
‘We are safe now,’ Mrs Petrova said. ‘Maybe the situation in Ukraine will not last that long and we will be able to go back in a week or two.’
The sprawling aircraft hangar-like building, now dubbed Kyiv Hall, has 600 makeshift camp beds. The operation is being handled by Poland’s military, which is taking charge of the logistics and distributing supplies to those in need.
Donations of food, clothes, medicines and even toys have been handed out after a massive grassroots effort across Poland.
At the camp, the food is left out in cardboard boxes and shopping trolleys for refugees to collect.
Gaia Kosciolko, 17, and her schoolfriend, Martyna Farion, 18, spent yesterday handing out teddy bears to the younger children.
A Polish Border Guard carries a child at the border crossing between Poland and Ukraine, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, in Medyka, Poland
Ukrainian refugees arrive by train from Kiev at the Warszawa Wschodnia station in Warsaw, Poland
A Ukrainian family eat on their camp beds in an emergency centre set up for refugees of the Ukrainian war at a warehouse in Korczowa
And Izabela Nowak, 31, told the Mail how she had rallied a group of 30 volunteers to set up a soup kitchen for refugees.
‘We will be here for as long as we need to be,’ she said.
Miss Nowak works at a computer store run by Adam Holboy, 38, who decided to shut down his business so he could help the Ukrainians.
Last night the Mail saw how locals braved freezing temperatures to welcome the new arrivals.
They gathered outside Kyiv Hall as two buses, both crammed full of people, pulled up and offered them a free ‘taxi service’ to other parts of the country. Some had even come from further afield to help.
Frank Koryk, a 27-year-old wind turbine technician, said he had driven from Prague overnight so he could be here to take the Ukrainians to safety.
‘I felt this was better than just watching what was happening on TV,’ Mr Koryk said. ‘We Czechs have been under Soviet occupation as well, so I wanted to help.’
Polish volunteer drivers are walking through the building, calling out their destination at the top of their voice. ‘Anyone to Berlin?’ shouts one man.
But there were reports last night that African migrants in Ukraine were being blocked from entering Poland. A man said he and his family had been turned away from the border and told ‘no blacks’, The Independent reported.
Most of the arrivals spend just a few hours here before they leave for hotels, apartments, or to stay with relatives in other parts of Poland. The centre has a high turnover, with people coming and going on a near hourly basis.
One NGO worker, who declined to be named, said that there had been an increase in arrivals over the weekend. ‘It’s really chaos here now,’ he said. ‘We are trying to find beds for people, or at least places for them to go.
‘Most of those crossing the border seem to want to stay in Poland or go to Germany.’
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