As war breaks out in Ukraine following a Russian invasion, it’s estimated more than 100,000 Ukrainian citizens have fled their homes.
Becoming refugees overnight, families have headed for the borders in a desperate attempt to flee and reach safe haven in countries like Poland.
And for Ukrainian children who have had their lives instantly turned upside down, the fast-moving situation is difficult to comprehend.
A dad called Vitaly, from the capital Kyiv, told the Daily Mail : “I have a small child. Yesterday, we went to the kindergarten but today there is war. It has started.”
He added he was going to stay with his elderly parents who live on the outskirts of the city because they were “nervous” about the events that were unfolding.
Ukrainian parents have also shared heartbreaking conversations with their children in the wake of the invasion – with confused youngsters asking their mums and dads what is happening.
The newspaper reported one mum, whose kids were confused about why they hadn’t been woken up for school.
After an innocent question from her little ones, she was forced to tell them what was going on.
When the kids asked: “Is there a holiday?” she had to tell them: “No dears, the war has started.”
While Ukrainian citizens grapple with the new reality of living in a country at war, ordinary citizens are shelling out enormous fares for travel outside of the capital city.
Tetiana, a 32-year-old mum, had been visiting her parents in Ukraine from Poland, where she now lives with her husband and two children.
After the missile attacks began, she and her family took a taxi to the train station – where armed police were stopping anyone without a pre-booked ticket.
When they tried to get a cab to the western city of Lviv – near Poland – Tetiana said drivers were charging prices as high as €2,000, which she and her family couldn’t afford.
She said: “It’s horrible. My daughters are so tired. We’ve spent the whole night like this. It’s a war and we can’t escape – and even if we do, my parents are still in Ukraine. But what can I do? How can I help them?”
Across the nation, children have been pictured hiding out in metro stations to shelter from Russian shelling.
The BBC reported kids from the Number One school in the city of Druzhkivka were being led single file down the steps to the underground in images reminiscent of The Blitz.
