A Northumberland man living in Kyiv has spoken of the desperate race to flee the war-torn Ukrainian capital as bombs exploded in the city around him.
Chris York described his "terrifying" 48-hour trek to the Poland border as "the sort of thing that you only usually see in movies", with gridlocked roads and people fleeing on foot with the only belongings they could carry.
The 37-year-old, from Alnwick, added: "At the actual crossing it was just a sea of people all queueing to get through two tiny gates.
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"When we arrived it was calm even though there were no facilities aside from a few small shops. But when it got dark the mood changed and people started to panic.
"There was a massive crush for the gates and it got really scary."
Chris set up home in the capital after moving to Ukraine in July 2021 to study a Russian language course following redundancy.
But he made the decision to flee his home on Thursday, February 24, after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine.
He said that "bombs were already dropping and the air raid sirens were going off" as he caught a train and travelled west to Lviv where his girlfriend Yaryna had been staying for a while.
But it was only a matter of hours before the couple packed up their belongings and headed for the border of Poland as the threat of invasion moved closer to Lviv.
Chris said: "We thought it would be safer there as it's way over in the west of the country.
"But all night I could hear explosions in the distance and in the morning I was woken up by another air raid siren. This is when we decided to head for the border."
Chris, who works as a journalist, added: "Yaryna works for a democracy NGO and there were reports that people who had dedicated their lives to help strengthen Ukraine's democratic structures would be in serious danger if Russia ended up occupying the country."
Together the couple, who met in November, embarked on a two-day journey to reach the border, which they completed mostly on foot.
Yaryna's parents helped the couple to flee the country by driving them as far as they could, before dropping them off and travelling back to their home after making the decision not to leave the country.
When the couple reached the border, Chris described the situation as "very chaotic".
He added: "There are hundreds of thousands of people trying to flee and on the Ukrainian side of the border, there just isn't the resources or the manpower to effectively manage it all.
"They're trying as best they can [at the border] but what can you do when you you're trying to fend off an invasion and manage a huge humanitarian crisis at the same time?"
The couple are now staying with Yaryna's sister in Warsaw, Poland, who has been helping them to get back on their feet after their terrifying ordeal.
Chris said: "We're relieved to be here but we have been incredibly lucky. We had a really tough couple of days but people trying to cross now are facing even longer waits in even colder conditions with even fewer provisions."
The couple have now set up a fundraiser via GoFundMe to help get supplies to refugees arriving in Poland.
In the three days since it was created, it has already accumulated over £12,000 in donations to help those fleeing the war on Ukraine.
Anyone who would like to donate to his fundraiser - Support Ukrainian Refugees Arriving In Poland - can do so via this link.
Chris added: "What's happening on this side of the border right now is absolutely incredible, people here are just being utterly amazing.
"People arriving here need food, water and so many other things so we're buying as much as we can and getting it to the volunteer groups.
"We're also hoping we can arrange for supplies going the other way to help people on the Ukrainian side of the border where it's needed even more."
