A TVN24 reporter has located the owner of a car pierced by shrapnels from a Russian missile. The vehicle, which Oleksandr and his family used to escape from Mariupol, is parked in Warsaw's Grochów district. "There's nothing to return to anymore," the man says.
Photos of a car with Ukrainian registration plates and damaged back, parked in Warsaw's residential district of Grochów, have recently gone viral. TVN24 reporter Paweł Łukasik spoke with the car's owner whose name is Oleksandr, tho escaped from sieged city of Mariupol together with his wife and her father. They arrived in Warsaw a few days ago, where they reunited with the couple's daughter who studies in the Polish capital.
Two months in a basement
Oleksandr told the reporter how the car got damaged. "The war broke out on February 24. For the first two, three days we would go to work, but then we would just hide in the basement and rarely go out. We didn't have access to any information," the man said.
The family were hiding in the basement for two months. "In the basement we had wine, potatoes, and I earlier I had bought groats, so we had supplies. There was no water, gas and electricity," he said.
They would prepare their meals on a tourist stove or place the pots on bricks. They mainly cooked soups, groats and potatoes. They was no meat. "There were three families in our house, kids aged between 18 months and 6 years who needed to be fed. We would prepare meals for them in morning, between shellings," Oleksandr said.
He added that before he and his family managed to escape, their car got damaged by a missile from Grad multiple rocket launcher system, which hit the ground right next to a garage. Shrapnels hit the doors and the back of car. "The fuel tank was damaged, so I fixed it using epoxy resin, I replaced the wiring and light bulbs, and off we went," the man explained.
"There's almost nothing left of Mariupol"
Paweł Łukasik asked Oleksandr about Mariupol. "The sight is harrowing, ruins. When they would hit the first floor, the whole building would collapse," he said. "There's almost nothing left of Mariupol. They call it Stalingrad" - he added.
He also said that mainly elederly people stayed in the city, as those who have children were trying hard to leave. "We have a car, so we took our grandpa," he said.
Asked about his plans, Oleksandr said: "We're looking for work and a flat, because there's no coming back there. We are doctors and, if possible, we will look for work here".
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, TVN24
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: TVN24