A Brit caught up in the invasion of Ukraine is attempting to flee the country with his girlfriend in fear of Vladimir Putin ’s forces.
Jez Myers, 44, splits his time between Manchester and Kyiv, which his Ukrainian partner Maria Romanenko calls home.
He was due to visit her for Valentine’s Day, but with the looming invasion they instead travelled to Poland where they spent nine days together.
The couple decided to risk returning to Kyiv last night and woke to find Putin’s forces were advancing, forcing them to flee the city- with thousands of other terrified people.
After an exhausting day travelling, the pair are now staying with friends in Lviv and are planning to get across the border into Poland tomorrow, Manchester Evening News reports.
Jez, a business consultant, said: “We woke up to loads of message and lots of news.
"We knew absolutely nothing about anything that had gone on through the night. It was a case of 'right, let's go'.
“People were scared. There were long queues at petrol stations, supermarkets and cash machines.”
The couple learned of explosions in Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities early this morning after Russian president Putin ordered the invasion.
Jez hopes to return home to Manchester, but despite the danger says he has "no option" but to remain with Maria.
She applied for a UK visitor visa three weeks ago, but is yet to hear back from the Home Office.
Due to her job as a journalist, the couple fear she could be targeted by Putin's regime.
Maria said: “I didn't expect this. I know there [were] many warnings, but I did not expect things to escalate so quickly.
“I have never seen scenes like this in my home country."
Jez added: "It's been very stressful. We don't know what to do.
"We know we need to get to the border, but we don't know what support is available. It's very tough for us."
So far, 57 people have been killed and another 169 injured in Russia's war on Ukraine.
Russian missiles have launched at airports and military bases as attack helicopters soared above the capital Kyiv - and troops fought by the infamous Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Joe Biden has vowed to cut off more than half of Russia's high-tech imports due to the full-scale invasion.
