Waterford-based Ukrainian helps his young family flee war's 'shootings and explosions'

Other family members had to stay behind to fight and to work in Kyiv's hospitals

Waterford-based Andrii Kovskyi and his wife Natalia Kovalska helped their relatives and their own children escape Ukraine.

A meat-plant worker in Waterford has described how he and his family managed to escape the terror of Russia's invasion of Kyiv over the weekend.

Andrii Kovskyi helped his wife Natalia and their children escape on Friday night, with "no roads" remaining for much of their journey. The family and their relations in Ukraine made the decision for their children to be taken to safety away from the fighting in the war-torn country.

Speaking through a translator, Andrii, 40, and his wife Natalia Kovalska, 39, described hearing "shootings and explosions" around them as they made their escape from Kyiv. They said it was a "horrible and scary" time in the Ukrainian capital, as they packed nothing bar their passports to get out of the country.

Andrii, who works at Dawn Meats outside Waterford city, headed back to Ukraine to help the family escape, and they began their terrifying journey on Friday night last. Natalia and her children had been hiding for several days in the apartment they had been living in.

"It's people hiding in buildings as much as they can," Andrii said. 

A lady gave birth to her child because she couldn't get to the hospital. You just stay where you are in the basement.

Other adult family members agreed that their children would join the couple on the journey out of Kyiv, as those parents had to stay behind to fight and to work in Kyiv's hospitals.

Andrii and Natalia piled the five children - three of whom were their relatives' kids - into a car and escaped the capital Kyiv to travel to Lviv. It is roughly a seven-hour journey in normal times but at this point in Russia's invasion of the war, there are "no roads" remaining to make the journey any easier.

"As you can imagine you're trying to get as many people out as you can. From Lviv to Poland it was on a bus with mainly women and children," he said.

From Lviv, the family were able to get a bus to Krakow, filled mainly with women and children. They managed to land in Ireland on Saturday.

However, because of the size of Andrii's one-bed flat in Waterford, all five children have been left temporarily with friends in Cork until the family can be reunited. Local politicians have been contacted to assist the family.

They said that even if the other relatives want to leave, they almost certainly can't at this point. A bridge used to escape was destroyed shortly after the family made their crossing.

"There are currently no roads, everything is in an awful state. It's dangerous to be out there, it's dangerous to be travelling.

"The family left behind, they have no way of getting out. It's safer to stay put. The cars are not a safe place to be in, never mind the roads."

Now, the family is concerned for their relatives who stayed behind and fear for their welfare. "We're tired, but we are keeping going," Natalia said. "We're worried about our family."

There are roughly 50 Ukrainians in Waterford and the city's latest solitary demonstration, held on Sunday, saw over 200 turn out on the city's Mall in support of Ukraine. According to Micheál Martin, around 1,800 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Ireland since the war started.

In light of growing support via donations for Ukraine, a centralised location in Waterford for donations will open tomorrow in an industrial estate in the city at Kilcohan. It will run from Monday to Sunday, 5pm-7pm, for the foreseeable future, according to Waterford City and County Council.