Ukrainian father and son reveal heartbreaking scenes at Polish border after traveling from Sheffield with help UK News

Vasyl Senechyn, 50, and his son Nazar, 28, who have lived in Sheffield for five years, started collecting donations four days after the Russian army began invading their home country.

At first they had originally planned to take their cars, but after receiving so many donations from Sheffielders, they decided to take a van given to them by their London-based friend, Vasil Ugrenyuk, 49, who drove them joined during the trip.

When they finally arrived at the Polish border at 1 a.m. last Wednesday, they were greeted by buses and trucks leaving Ukraine and the cries of those who had fled.

Nazar said: “What we saw at the Polish border was heartbreaking. Because we only saw children, mothers and young people trying to leave the country. Everyone was devastated, everyone was in tears. We got emotional and couldn’t have done anything to help them at that time. The pictures, videos we see online just don’t do it justice. This is what happens on the ground. »

He said he had also heard children who had escaped say they were freezing in minus four degrees.

“We couldn’t do anything even though we had our blankets in our van because there was a 20ft metal fence between us and the refugee corridor,” he said.

“We couldn’t approach him because there were people in the way, and we basically had to watch them suffer. As we left the border, we were grieved and truly upset after what we witnessed. We knew what we were doing was just a drop in the ocean of what was needed to make a huge difference.

All donations received were transported to a military hospital in Lviv, Ukraine, where donated medical supplies were used instantly due to shortages.

Lviv, which was shelled and shelled, is where the Ukrainian family of Nazar and Vasyl currently live.

The duo are keen to make the trip to help their people again. However, they have stopped taking donations for the time being as they could not find a transport large enough to take it.