The boy left his home in Zaporizhzhia to the Slovakian border on his own
(Picture: Facebook / Ministerstvo vnútra SR)An 11-year-old boy travelled 600 miles from his home in southeastern Ukraine to Slovakia with just a plastic bag, passport and telephone number scribbled on his hand.
The boy left his home in Zaporizhzhia and made the journey to the Slovakian border on his own in a bid to escape the escalating conflict.
His mother was forced to stay back in the city, where Russian forces besieged a nuclear power plant last week, but volunteers contacted family for him thanks to the phone number that had been written on his hand.
Slovakian officials praised the little boy for his “smile, fearlessness and determination”.
In a post on Facebook, the Slovakian Interior Ministry said: “Volunteers took care of him, took him warm and provided him with food and drink, which they packed for the next trip.
“Thanks to the number on his hand and a piece of paper in his waist, he managed to contact his loved ones, who came for him later, and the whole story ended well.”
The boy’s mother stayed back in Ukraine to care for her mother who could not travel, according to local reports.
Now he is being cared for by relatives in Bratislava.
His mother Júlia Pisecká posted a video via Facebook to explain her son was able to get to the Slovakian border by train.
She said: “I am a widow and I have more children. I want to thank the Slovak customs and volunteers who took care of my son and helped him cross the border.
“I am grateful you have saved my child’s life. Next to my town is a nuclear power plant that the Russians are shooting at. I couldn’t leave my mother, she can’t move on her own. People with a big heart live in your small country.”
It is also being reported the little boy’s siblings made it to Slovakia which is on Ukraine’s western border.
The Facebook post also urged those who want to help the boy’s mother and grandmother “who can’t get out of Ukraine” to contact the Association of Christian Youth Fellowships.
Last week, Russian forces seized control of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
The plant is the largest in Europe and is responsible for generating around 20 per cent of Ukraine’s electricity.
