It was 4 a.m. on Feb. 24 when the phone of 51-year-old Arina rang in the town of Vinnytsia in north-central Ukraine. “Putin hit us,” she was informed on the other end of the phone line. “I literally jumped in the van with my husband, put the camera in front of me and started going to pick up my children, to leave everything behind to escape the bombs,” she told GRTimes in shock.
It was this moment that determined the future of the Piodkovskassi family. Which unexpectedly turned her into part of the new refugee wave in Europe. The moment of an “Odyssey”, which began for them so unexpectedly, as they say. “We did not expect Putin to hit us. We live in the 21st century. “Who expected it to invade another country?”
“Greece is one way for us”
Arena, her husband Vladimir, her two daughters, Alexandra and Nicole, her two grandchildren, 5-year-old David and 9-year-old Sofia, along with four dogs and a turtle, which for 66 hours, are stacked in a van, with destination Aridea of ​​Pella. “We have friends in Aridea. We have been coming to Greece for years “, explains Arina, owner of a kennel in Vinitsa. “Our friends were kind enough to suggest us to host us for as long as needed. “For us, Greece and Pella were the only way”, he adds.
Queue 50 km at the border, without money and petrol
Exhausted, they all made a stop in Thessaloniki, before continuing on to their final destination, in Aridea. “We are really exhausted, but also so relieved that we are safe now,” Alexandra told GRTimes.
Her mother adds: “We fought hard to cross the border. In addition, we were anxious about the fate of relatives and friends, which we left behind “. “In fact, we left without money, since we were” blocked “by the amount of transactions, gasoline was minimal and our only hope was to leave the borders.”
“On the border with Moldova, where we finally passed, the vehicles had formed a queue, 50 kilometers long. There were pedestrians waiting all night to cross. “It was shocking,” Arina describes in an almost trembling voice.
Their journey to their final destination, Aridea, is coming to an end. 9-year-old Sofia is almost asleep in the van, while 5-year-old David, took the opportunity to run for a while in the parking lot where they have stopped, in order to “unwind”. “Are we arriving?”, He asks his mother with a question in his eyes… “The children are exhausted. “All they want is to eat a hot meal and sleep,” Alexandra explains.
Tomorrow uncertain for all of them. “We know nothing. How long will we stay in Greece, how long will the war last. “When will we see ours again, running to the shelters every now and then?”, Says Arina, lowering her eyes, finally declaring that she is proud of our president, Zelensky. She was always honest and now she is in the country, next to everyone. He did not lie and he never left us … “
GRtimes
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a vast amount of experience in covering health news. I am also an author at News Bulletin 247. I am highly experienced and knowledgeable in this field. I am a hard worker and always deliver quality work. I am a reliable source of information and always provide accurate information.
