Ukraine crisis: Images of 11-yo on solo journey to cross the border into Slovakia goes viral

Team Udayavani, Mar 9, 2022, 10:51 AM IST

Pic credit- Slovakia Police/Facebook

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters into Day 14, the internet has been flooded with heart-wrenching visuals of Ukrainians fleeing from the war-torn country.

In one such instance, a story of an 11-year-old boy who crossed the border into Slovakia alone as his family decided to stay back in Ukraine has moved netizens emotionally.

The boy’s story was shared by Slovakia Police recently. The boy was spotted crossing the border into Slovakia alone, with a backpack and a phone number written on his hand. Upon enquiring about his family’s whereabouts, he told that he had to come alone as the family had decided to stay back.

Volunteers, among people crossing the border, took care of the boy, who arrived on Saturday, and provided him with food and drink. Reportedly the boy’s mother could not leave the country as she has to care for her disabled mother and thus she decided to put her son on a train to Slovakia for his safety.

The woman in a Facebook video uploaded on Sunday expressed gratitude to the volunteers who saved her son’s life. “In your small country, there are people with big hearts,” she is heard saying in the video.

Authorities were able to track down his relatives living in the capital city and he was safely handed over to them. Despite the traumatic experience, the boy can be seen flaunting a beautiful smile.

With inputs from The Tribune