“It was very hard, I’m not ashamed to say that I almost lost the will to live. I never thought I’d see what my grandparents told me, not even the Nazis did what the Russians are doing.” Mario Sabatino is still shaken as he tells ANSA about his escape from Kharkiv, a real odyssey under the bombs and the threat of rifles, across the Russian border. “By now it was the only viable road, the city was destroyed and surrounded, towards the west of Ukraine it was no longer possible to go”.
Sabatino, of Sicilian origins but Tuscan by adoption, 66 years old on the third day of the war, lived since 2016 in Ruskaya Lozovaya, a country village 8 km from Kharkiv, with his wife Olena and mother-in-law. “It seemed like a quiet place, where nothing tragic could happen.” Instead, on February 24, bombs began to rain, even near the pergola that Mario was still building. Three of them hid in the basement for days: “We were without electricity, at -15 degrees we heated ourselves with gas stoves. Luckily we had our own food supplies, potatoes and something else to eat. And luckily we had our own food supplies, potatoes and something else to eat. there was snow, we drank it and used it for the toilets “. But the fear was such that the family was unable to go out to try to reach the center of Kharkiv and take a train. “With my 82-year-old mother-in-law, we wouldn’t have been able to queue for 14 hours at the station.”
On March 17, three weeks into the war, salvation arrives with Ruslan, a 35-year-old volunteer who first only wanted to help them but then decides to leave with them. Four of them, with two dogs and two cats, get into Ruslan’s car and run away. Towards Russia. “We passed 7 Russian checkpoints. They asked us for passports and telephones. They checked our car. Luckily it was old, because they were shot at those with the SUV for resale in Russia”, says Mario. “It took us 37 hours to cross the border, we were exhausted”. Then the arrival in Belgorod, and in Kursk. “We had no rubles and the card didn’t work. A girl from a small pension took pity on us and she let us stay until we received money from my daughter who had already fled to Italy.”
After two nights of rest, still scared and unsure, the group sets off on their journey back to Latvia. “Before the border, at 3 am, the Russians questioned us again. Ruslan especially, they asked him if he wanted to join them. They threatened him, but without him I wouldn’t have moved an inch. I owe him everything”, admits Mario, who has remained in constant contact with the embassies in Moscow and Riga. After another 15 hours, the Sabatino family finally sets foot in the European Union. “They hosted us on a farm, without asking for a penny”.
From here, always by car in Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and finally in Italy. On April 1st, after 14 days of an odyssey that seemed endless, Mario, his family and Ruslan (“I took him with me, I won’t give him up”) arrived in Sesto Fiorentino, welcomed by his children and from friends. “And from so much bureaucracy”, adds with regret this retired chemical expert, who still cannot find a way to get married today. And rest. “Now we have moved to Pistoia, to an apartment that a gentleman who lives in Geneva, Michele Bini, has given us free of charge for 6 months. I want to thank him”. “Now let’s try to rebalance our life”, says Mario again. And Ukraine? “We will never go back. There is nothing left, just a meaningless human tragedy.”
Source: Ansa
I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years now and I have worked for some of the biggest news websites in the world. My focus has always been on entertainment news, but I also cover a range of other topics. I am currently an author at Global happenings and I love writing about all things pop-culture related.
