A British man who lives in Poland drove across the border to Ukraine before travelling partially on foot to evacuate his friend’s little brother Maks.
Volunteer first responder, Thomas Duncan Bell, 37, was assisting in getting medical supplies across the Polish border when he received a call from his Ukrainian friend and bandmate Andrej.
Andrej, 26, told Mr Bell that after being urged to join the army, he needed help getting his 10-year-old brother Maks out of Ukraine.
Both he and their father had already begun serving in the military, leaving Maks stranded.
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Mr Bell said he needed to get him out and drove from Poland into north-west Ukraine via the Hrebenne border in his Jeep.
“When I offered to look after Maks I didn’t do it with an end date in mind. I’ll look after him as long as necessary, until the day I can drive him to Ukraine and take him to his door in Cherkasy and tell him he is home now”, he said.
During the journey, border staff advised Thomas leave his car and hitch a ride with a member of the military entering Ukraine to get to Maks quicker, finishing off the last leg by foot.
On the way back the pair were stuck for three to four hours in the snow.
“Maks was so scared, he’s had four years of English so he can understand snippets of conversations, but he was in tears at one point. He was worried he was going to be sent back”, he said.
At the Polish border and with the permission of Maks’ family, Thomas registered himself as his legal guardian in the country and took him home to his wife and their four-year-old son.
Thomas said his son thinks he has the best brother and loves Maks already.
‘We’ll try to give him a life as close as possible to what he would have had in Ukraine’
His mother and brother who are still in Ukraine have had intermittent contact via video calls with him.
While in Poland, Thomas said he hopes to provide a safe home for him.
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“You can’t replace it but we’ll try to give him a life as close as possible to what he would have had in Ukraine so he doesn’t have to think about the trauma his family is going through”, he said.
Thomas said despite the situation, Maks is “doing well” and has joined a local football team and entertains his family with his ballroom moves.
Alongside Thomas’ journey to evacuate Maks, he has also been fundraising to help Ukrainian orphans who have fled the country and is facilitating exit routes from Ukraine to neighbouring countries.
