An Irish student fleeing the conflict in Ukraine is set to cross the border into the EU on Wednesday afternoon.
Racheal Diyaolu, from Carlow, travelled to Ukraine last November to begin studying for her medical degree.
However, the 19-year-old and hundreds of her fellow students in the northeastern city of Sumy became trapped in the country after Russia invaded on February 24.
Initial efforts to rescue Racheal and her friends were hampered after Russian troops continued to shell the city despite a ceasefire being in place to allow civilians to escape.
On Monday, she escaped the hostel she was staying in on the Ukrainian-Russian border and began making a 17 hour journey to Poland.
The journey, undertaken by two Scottish men volunteering to rescue people struggling to flee Ukraine, changed course the following day when Poland no longer became a viable destination.
Instead, the group headed for the Romanian border where they arrived on Wednesday.
Racheal’s sister Christiana posted an update on Twitter, writing: "Update - they've made it to an EU border. I could shout it from the hills! They have made it to the border and are making their way through now. I’ve been told not to reveal their exact location yet, until they get to safety. Next step Ireland."
Rachael revealed she is on the Romanian border and said the feeling was "hard to explain but overall ecstatic".
She posted a video while she was part of a long line of people waiting to get through the checkpoint.
She extended her gratitude to people in Ireland for their support and for following her journey out of Ukraine.
In earlier updates on Wednesday morning, Christina shared a video of Rachael heading off to Ukraine for the first time in November 21.
She said: "While I’ve been anxiously waiting for any news from my sister, I was looking through my camera roll and found the video I took of her, the morning of her flight to Ukraine.
"21/11/21 06:22am feels like ages ago now. Little did we know what would happen 3 months on.. See u soon R."
