A TEACHER who fled his home in Kyiv with his family said he has been “overwhelmed” by donations from strangers to help them make ends meet.
A crowdfunder to raise £5,000 to cover their living costs and expenses after finding themselves homeless and unemployed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine raised more than £3,500 in just 24 hours.
Brighton-born Dan Baker fled his home in the Ukrainian capital with his wife Victoria, step-daughter Veronica and cat Pumpkin after hearing claims Russian soldiers were raping women in occupied areas.
The family took a days-long trip to get to the Polish border, narrowly avoiding a Russian missile strike that hit a mile away from where they had been staying less than an hour after they had left to carry on their journey to the border.
Since crossing the border to Poland, they have used their savings to try and find accommodation to stay at in the country while sorting plans to come to the UK this weekend, having gained visas the day before the invasion to come to Britain for his brother’s wedding.
However, Dan has faced hurdles in trying to get Pumpkin into the UK, and currently plans to have his cat stay with a family friend in Poland rather than face the prospect of being quarantined at the border.
He said: “Your pet becomes part of the family, and I don’t want her to be locked in a box for four months.”
The family have been sharing their experience of the war through videos on YouTube, which has attracted over 2,000 subscribers since their first upload over a fortnight ago.
Dan and his family are among more than two million people to have fled the country since the start of the invasion of Ukraine last month.
While Dan said it was devastating to leave their home in Kyiv, he said they have been luckier than most; having a car, places to stay and visas to come to Britain.
He said: “We feel so much better now, much more relaxed. Although we are still in a bad position, we are safe and out of imminent danger.”
Dan said that any money raised over their £5,000 target, which would help cover their costs for six months, would be put towards helping others fleeing the conflict once they have found a place to stay and work.
He is still working out his future plans and is working out whether he will stay in the UK with his family more permanently, or try to find work and live somewhere in the EU.
Dan said that harrowing footage of the aftermath of attacks by Russian forces have filled him with “pure hatred”.
He said: “It doesn’t feel real still. It feels like I have been watching a film. I don’t know how to explain it - and I don’t think I ever will.
“I have a feeling this isn’t going to end soon and is only going to end one way - no one wants that way, but I think it’s going towards that.
“There was an explosion ten to 15 miles from the Polish border. If one of those goes astray and hits Polish land, that’s it - it’s World War Three.”
Donations to Dan’s fundraising campaign can be made at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/dan-baker-ukraine.
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