A Scots living in Ukraine has told of his family’s desperate flight to freedom after missiles fell on Kyiv.
Stuart McKenzie loaded his family, including his frail mother-in-law, into his car and made an 18 hour dash to Poland before escape becomes impossible.
They joined 29,000 people to cross the Polish border in Thursday, who Stuart believes are the lucky ones.
Exhausted and tearful Stuart believes that many who try to follow will need a miracle to get out of the crisis country after the bloodthirsty actions of Putin’s Russia.
Speaking from a stop-gap hotel in Sieniawa, Poland, Stuart told the Record how he plans to quickly rent two houses near Krakow that he will make available to staff members from his Kyiv business who manage to get out of the Ukraine on coming days and weeks.
Healthcare firm boss Stuart said: “We are all exhausted, just shattered, and trying to comprehend what is happening.
“It seems to me that Putin is now showing his true colours as a megalomaniac who is seeking to stamp his mark on history, which means a living horror for millions of people. So many innocent people will die. We know that now.
“I firmly believe we are among the very lucky ones, as we saw the reality take shape just in the nick of time and we prepared ourselves, which meant we were able to escape.
“We went to the small border exit, which we had researched as being the quick way, and it still took us none hours to get through in the end.
“We left at 5am and got to our hotel after 10pm, so it was almost 18 hours. When we were leaving we could hear bombs landing. It was hard to believe it was true.
“I could see that anyone who left it until 10am or 11am to leave would get it so much worse than us.”
Stuart, 51, packed his Land Rover Discovery full of enough food to last a few days, a full tank of fuel plus extra in jerry cans to deal with any gridlock.
His original plan had been to leave with wife Lena, 49, sons Robert, 15, and Stuart, 12, but that plan was abandoned as Lena could not leave her mother Galina behind.
Galina is due to have a hernia operation and the journey was very hard on her.
Stuart, from Helensburgh, has been in Ukraine for 28 years. He said: “When I spoke to the Daily Record last week I was 90 per cent sure that Putin was running a strategy, taking things to the brink but that he would not bomb Kyiv.
“I didn’t think this day would come - but I was wrong.
“I couldn’t sleep on Wednesday night and I was watching the news and realised the time had come to change plan.
“The car was loaded and the family was primed, so we just got on with the evacuation.”
Stuart was forced to choose between taking beloved labrador Hermie in the 4x4 but that would have meant leaving clothes and supplies behind.
He said: “Hermie had to stay and we all feel bad about that. I have since got one of my staff members to look after our home, which means moving in and looking after the dog, so that is one blessing.”
Stuart, whose brother Robert, 43, had chosen to stay in Ukraine for now, said the bleak road trip was surreal.
He said: “We could see panic and distress all over the place. If you left space for a car in front of your bumper, someone would immediately move into it - every place in the queue was precious.
“I could see people in other cars weren’t talking to each other, just looking very stressed and traumatised.
“We passed petrol stations and there were massive queues. We had not needed to go through the city, as our home was on the west side and Poland facing. And because we made plans we didn’t need to stop for fuel.
“It was obvious that people had left with whatever fuel was in their car and that wasn’t enough. I would imagine that thousands of people will simply not get to the border.
“Many of them will have left without food and water to get them there either, as you would, at this stage, have to take all you need, possibly for to days or more, when you leave your home.”
Stuart is currently seeking to rent two large homes near Krakow and hopes he can get his business, which uses hemp to manufacture goods, up and running normally at his existing Polish base.
He said: “I don’t know what will happen with us. First of all we will have to see that my sons and mother in law and safe and secure.
“Then I will hope that my employees will be able to join us, one by one if need be. Who knows where we will be tomorrow, never mind next month.”
Stuart said he believes those living in Kyiv centre will be the first to come under the shock of occupation.
He said: “I have to feel so terrified for people in the city, those in apartment blocks.
“I dread what might happen but I can see troops going from door to door and checking the credentials of people.
“Putin has done this before, going through the social media accounts of people to see if they are deemed to be enemies, so I fear for the good people in Ukraine who have spoken out against him.”
