We calm brave Ukraine kids when they hear air raid sirens in Lviv… they know what it means after running for their lives
AFTER four days fleeing across his conflict-ravaged land, a chocolate wafer is enough to make little Artem Zuloskav smile.
Queuing for a bus for Poland, the exhausted four-year-old can barely get his arms around the juices and biscuits provided by the Red Cross.
His mum, Irina, 38, shepherding Artem’s six older siblings, told me: “Artem’s been very brave.
"He’s seen bombs and our city of Tokmak almost destroyed.
"We had to escape for our lives.
"The biscuits and juices are a comfort to him.
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"We’re alone here. Without the Red Cross, I don’t know what we’d do.”
The bewildered family fled Tokmak in southern Ukraine to join millions of refugees trekking west in search of sanctuary.
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Traipsing in the cold with haunted eyes and hungry bellies, thousands pass through the station in Lviv in western Ukraine every day.
As these bedraggled women and children descend the steps of the chaotic terminus a cluster of Red Cross tents is a welcome sight.
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Staff and volunteers from the charity — whose work is backed by The Sun’s Ukraine Appeal — hand out blankets, warm meals and nappies to the weary and traumatised.
Red Cross volunteer and mum-of-two Mariana Ilchyshin, 44, said: “Refugees are in a bad emotional state when they reach here.
“When we have air raid sirens here at the station the children panic.
“They know very well what it means.
“We calm the children down, offer the families advice and make sure they have a decent meal to take on the buses to Poland.”
With this brutal conflict in its fourth week, more than three million refugees have already fled Ukraine.
Many pass through Lviv.
Mariana — a businesswoman in peacetime — revealed: “Lviv is full. There’s no room for more refugees.”
This chaotic terminus in western Ukraine is also a place of goodbyes.
Men aged 18 to 60 have to stay and fight while women and children flee.
'WE'RE ALONE HERE'
Mariana added: “We see husbands and fathers waving goodbye. There’s tears and it’s very sad.”
Handing out snacks, Red Cross volunteer Volodymyr Khucharsky, 32, a builder, told me: “When I was younger I lived on the streets.
“I know what it’s like to have nothing.
“Some children here have lost parents or other family members in the fighting.
“We offer them smiles, some comforting food while trying to show that people care about them.”
Six-year-old Eva Goncharava accepts water and chocolate as she boards a bus to safety.
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Told about Sun readers’ heartfelt donation to the Red Cross, her engineer mum Viktoriya, 28, from Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, said: “We’re very grateful to everyone who has donated.
“It’s good to experience some human kindness.”
Help those fleeing conflict with The Sun’s Ukraine Fund
PICTURES of women and children fleeing the horror of Ukraine’s devastated towns and cities have moved Sun readers to tears.
Many of you want to help the five million caught in the chaos — and now you can, by donating to The Sun's Ukraine Fund.
Give as little as £3 or as much as you can afford and every penny will be donated to the Red Cross on the ground helping women, children, the old, the infirm and the wounded.
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Or text to 70141 from UK mobiles
£3 — text SUN£3
£5 — text SUN£5
£10 — text SUN£10
Texts cost your chosen donation amount (e.g. £5) +1 standard message (we receive 100%). For full T&Cs visit
The Ukraine Crisis Appeal will support people in areas currently affected and those potentially affected in the future by the crisis.
In the unlikely event that the British Red Cross raise more money than can be reasonably and efficiently spent, any surplus funds will be used to help them prepare for and respond to other humanitarian disasters anywhere in the world.
For more information visit