Ukrainian boy reaches safety in Hungary in time for his 2nd birthday

By Krisztina Than

TISZABECS, Hungary (Reuters) – Clutching her son dressed in a thick green snowsuit to protect him from the freezing cold, 28-year-old Ukrainian Svetlana smiled faintly when asked his name as they arrived at a shelter in Hungary.

“His name is Semyon. He will be two years old in two days.”

She, Semyon, her older son Dmitry and her mother finally made it across Ukraine’s border to Hungary on Tuesday, after a perilous, long drive from Kyiv.

As she emerged from the bus that brought her from the border crossing to the shelter in Tiszabecs, Svetlana fell into the arms of her older sister. She had travelled to Hungary from Slovenia to meet her and cried out with relief as she saw Svetlana and her nephews.

The two sisters embraced, holding each other tightly for a long time. Then they put Svetlana’s lone suitcase, containing her few possessions from home, into the boot of a car.

Semyon’s father will not be with them to celebrate his son’s birthday in safety. After driving his loved ones to the border, he turned back into Ukraine.

Ukraine is urging men to stay in the country and fight and has imposed rules which stop those aged 18-60 from crossing the borders.

“We hope that everyone will help us in Kyiv, in Ukraine because its a catastrophe,” said Svetlana.

(Reporting by Krisztina Than; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)