Perilous journey ends safely after entering Moldova

Destruction from recent skirmishes with Russian-backed troops along the Ukrainian border. Photo / Tom Mutch

With the invasion deepening, Karuna Krishnasamy and his girlfriend, like countless others before them, made their escape to a safer country.

Karuna, 29, a software engineer, who is the nephew of Kāpiti mayor K Gurunathan, had been living in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa for five years after falling in love with the city during his travels.

He had been living contentedly in an apartment with his girlfriend, and enjoying life in the city, until the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

With war tensions rising, the couple mostly stayed inside, only venturing out to restock their food and water supplies.

"When an air raid alert goes off we move to the centre of the apartment and close all the doors," he told Kāpiti News late last week.

His girlfriend and her family didn't want to immediately evacuate because they were holding out hope both sides would come to an agreement and the fighting would stop.

But Karuna, who didn't want his photograph appearing, wasn't as optimistic, especially with mounting carnage including devastating attacks on Kharkiv which had been, until recently, one of the most pro-Russian cities in Ukraine.

It was a tricky situation because he wasn't going to leave without them but "I really don't want to be killed by a Russian missile".

They had a contingency plan of crossing the border to Moldova.

Destruction to motorway infrastructure from Russian missiles and bombs in western Ukraine. Photo / Ross Parton

Karuna, originally from Malaysia, hadn't been doing much during the day "besides read the news and pace the apartment".

"I feel exhausted mentally and don't have it in me to work just yet."

His family and friends were naturally concerned and in daily contact.

"I think without their support I would have gone off the deep end already."

He said there were "air raid sirens almost every day and our anti-aircraft guns have fired every other night".

The other day "several large explosions were heard in the city with reports stating that the training aerodrome had been hit".

Heavily armed police patrolled the streets and enforced a strict curfew where people could not go out after 7pm or would be considered enemy saboteurs.

"I heard gunshots a few nights ago and later read someone had broken curfew in their car, refused police orders to stop and were therefore fired on."

There was still internet access which meant he had been receiving alerts of the unfolding situation.

"Every day our phones vibrate non-stop with notifications of explosions across the country and air raid warnings.

"There are also messages on how to make molotov cocktails, how to distinguish armed forces from the occupiers, where the safe spots in a building are, and where occupier troop movements have been spotted.

"The worst messages are the videos shared of the devastation brought to Ukraine."

A graphic of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Graphic / Flourish

Karuna subscribed to various news channels, both Russian and Ukrainian, and said the difference in what was presented was "staggering".

"The Kremlin lies and states they aren't targeting civilians and yet Kharkiv is in flames, the city centre rocked by massive missiles and cluster bombs.

"A friend in Kharkiv, hiding in a bomb shelter, sent me voice clips of non-stop shelling, all in civilian locations."

In the end it was time for Karuna, his girlfriend and her mother to grab their bags and go, eventually fleeing into Moldova.

They paid a person $100 to take them to the border crossing at Palanca.

It took them three hours and they passed through several heavily armed checkpoints.

"As we drove we passed by a building that had been hit by a Russian airstrike.

"We could see into the room from the road - it was completely caved in."

It took another three hours to pass through border control before taking a shuttle to Chisinau where they stayed with a friend for the night.

"The friend we stayed with helped us get an apartment for a month, and we will stay here for a while till we figure out next steps.

"Moldova is a small country, but an example of what a brotherly nation should be.

"Greeting us with hospitality and compassion instead of shelling our apartment buildings.

"Even Moldova is on edge right now.

"Their airspace is closed and they are monitoring the situation closely.

"Moldova is also a potential target, the breakaway region of Transnistria is host to a large RF military base."

Gurunathan said the trio's evacuation had been "a huge weight lifted off our minds".

"We are grateful to the government and people of Moldova who have treated Karuna and the over 100,000 refugees with great hospitality.

Kāpiti Mayor K Gurunathan.

"I'm just happy he is safe but fearful for the future of Ukraine and those left behind."

Karuna admitted he didn't think Russia would have invaded Ukraine even when the United States "was screaming at the top of their lungs that it was going to happen".

"I found it unlikely because I thought it would be complete madness for Putin to do so."

He described the war as "insanity" with Russia having "absolutely nothing to gain from it".

"There is absolutely no justification, no moral standing for the aggressor state to lean on.

"Putin is destroying Ukraine and his own country in the process."