‘Sitting in shelter in darkness you think only about missiles flying overhead’

​​​​​​By Jeyhun Aliyev

KYIV, Ukraine (AA) - A Turkish national who lived for the past 13 years with his Ukrainian family in the Kyiv region told Anadolu Agency in an evacuation train from the capital city that they had been attacked by the Russian forces since the beginning of the war on Feb. 24.

Celal Kilic, who is engaged in private business in Kyiv, said his house in Bucha -- a city in the Kyiv region which witnessed lots of fierce clashes -- is very close to the Hostomel Airport, a northwestern suburb, which he said has been attacked by the Russian forces right at the first day of the war.

“We have undergone very difficult times. We have been badly treated by the Russian soldiers. There were a lot of explosions (nearby) because after the Russian forces entered Ukraine from Belarus, they wanted to seize Hostomel and reach Kyiv from there,” he said.

Noting that they stay some 5 kilometers (nearly 3 miles) away from the Hostomel Airport, Kilic said he and his family witnessed “a lot of clashes” in the region.

He emphasized that together with his two children – 10-year-old Timur and two-year-old Emir -- and Ukrainian wife Tatyana, they were not able to go out of the shelter and had to wait until following 12 days they managed to reach the train station in Kyiv.

“We were at the shelter all this time. And today, taking a big risk, we moved towards the train station,” he said.

“We witnessed how Russian soldiers were demolishing, putting on fire the houses of civilians. We saw how Russian soldiers were killing innocent people. They have opened fire on civil cars in front of us, not sparing even the children,” he added.

Kilic said he witnessed in his neighborhood “tens of Chechen soldiers (of the Russian army)” and hundreds of tanks passing through.

“On the 12th day, we had no other option (but to flee). We had no electricity for the four days, and we ran out of water and food. Taking a big risk, we had to walk 1.5 kilometers (around 5,000 feet) till the area controlled by the Ukrainian soldiers.”

Kilic went on to say that Bucha was under the control of the Russian forces for the past seven days.

“The Ukrainian soldiers could not reach there, and the Russian soldiers started killing the innocent civilians there,” he stressed.

- Walking with raised hands

“Along with my two children, taking a big risk, we walked alongside the mines amid bombardment today and reached the area controlled by the Ukrainian forces,” he said, adding that they walked with the “raised hands so that they won’t fire on us.”

After crossing to the area controlled by the Ukrainian authorities, Kilic said they contacted the Turkish embassy in Kyiv and the authorities helped them to flee the city.

“I’m very grateful to them. May Allah bless them,” he said.

He said by train to the western city of Lviv, they aim to reach Ukraine’s border with Poland and then move towards Turkiye.

“Right now, we have no idea what will we do. We have nothing to do but wait,” he added.

- Missiles flying overhead

“Sitting in the shelter in darkness with no electricity, you think about the missiles flying overhead. You don’t know which one will hit you,” he said.

“(At that moment) you think about your children because we do our best for them. We tried to remain steadfast because of our children. Of course, we also got very tired,” he added.

He noted that despite a stressful trip, his family and both children “feel good now.”

“We see the events (war) in Ukraine as it happened in our own homeland. We were very saddened by what happened here. Our work, home, everything is here (in Ukraine). Now we leave everything behind and go to Turkiye. Of course, we know that our country will back us, but still, it is difficult for us to disrupt our routine life established here.”

Kilic said his family needs “a good rest now” as they got very tired in those days.

“We felt 12 days (spent in the shelter) as 12 years. It’s impossible to explain, to convey these feelings. Children were very scared. With each bomb shot, they got scared, they jumped, cried, they run to us,” a father-of-two said.

- ‘Very scared’

Timur, the elder son of Kilic, a fourth-grade student at school, said he already misses his school and classmates, adding that he will have a new school soon.

“We have been sitting in the house basement for 12 days. On the first day (of war), we wanted to go to the basement but then changed our minds.

But later we understood that it would be safer to stay there. On the second day, our relatives left us and we stood just with the grandparents,” he said.

Timur said the situation hadn’t improved much in the following days, adding that “it was worse every day.”

“It was very difficult. Today we decided to go (to the train station). We were walking with our hands up. I was very much scared. We prayed on the way,” he said.

“I even saw a destroyed tank. We also have passed minefield. Later, we met the (Ukrainian) servicemen and they brought us to the shelter,” Timur added.