Darko Kiparizovski, a Macedonian who has lived for six years in Kharkov, spoke to Alfa TV about his flight, with his wife and two children, from the besieged city.

We literally gathered all our life into several bags, our clothes, necessities, dried food and water, and fled. The first bombs exploded at 5 in the morning, and by 8:30 we were out, Kiparizovski said.

The family drove for two days to Moldova, sleeping with foreigners along the way. It took them over a day to cross the border, due to the long lines of refugees, with local residents bringing coffee, tea and food.

These were very emotional moments. It’s difficult to retell it. Everything was given to us for free, free of charge. In Bulgaria, I was given money for gas when they saw I’m an Ukrainian. It’s only in Macedonia where I was askedto pay 50 EUR for car insurance, Kiparizovski said.