A Manchester man is being forced to make a desperate dash to flee Ukraine after risking his life to visit his girlfriend.
Jez Myers, 44, has split his time between his home city and Kyiv, where his Ukrainian partner lives, since 2018.
He was due to travel to the Eastern European country on February 14 but decided it was not safe due to the looming threat of a Russian invasion.
Instead, he travelled to Gdansk in Poland where he met up with his partner, Maria Romanenko.
READ MORE: The tears, anger and defiance of Ukrainian families in Greater Manchester who woke up to war
They spent nine days there before deciding to risk a return to Ukraine.
However, after flying into Kyiv yesterday morning, they were stunned to discover that the country was in a state of national emergency.
They packed their belongings ready to leave if necessary, and spent last night staying with friends on the outskirts of the capital.
Explosions were heard in Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities early this morning after Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a military operation had begun.
But it was not until Jez and Maria woke up that they discovered the country had been invaded by Russian troops.
"We woke up to loads of message and lots of news," explained Jez, who works as a business consultant.
"We knew absolutely nothing about anything that had gone on through the night.
"It was a case of 'right, let's go'.
"We already had everything packed and contingency plans in place."
The couple set out for Lviv, near to Ukraine's border with Poland, at about 10am.
Many Ukrainians had the same idea.
Jez and Maria were faced with huge queues of traffic as thousands of people desperately attempted to flee Kyiv.
"People were scared," said Jez.
"There were long queues at petrol stations, supermarkets and cash machines."
They eventually arrived in Lviv this evening after a gruelling ten-hour drive west.
The couple plan to stay overnight with friends before trying to make it across the border and into Poland in the morning.
Jez hopes to return home to Manchester, but says he has 'no option' but to remain with Maria.
She applied for a UK visitor visa three weeks ago, but is yet to hear back from the Home Office.
Due to her job as a journalist, the couple fear she could be targeted by Putin's regime.
Yet Maria remains torn about having to leave her family behind.
"I've been through a whole rollercoaster of emotions," she said.
"I didn't expect this. I know there many warnings, but I did not expect things to escalate so quickly.
"I have never seen scenes like this in my home country."
Jez added: "It's been very stressful."
"We don't know what to do. We know we need to get to the border, but we don't know what support is available.
"It's very tough for us."
