A brave student from Liverpool has travelled from Merseyside to Ukraine to help refugees flee the war-torn nation into nearby Poland.
And determined Mike Wysocky says he refuses to feel afraid despite the chaos raging around him.
Mike, 37, is a Drama and Creative Writing undergraduate at Liverpool Hope University, and moved to England a number of years ago from his native Poland.
Mike’s partner is Alex Petrov, a 25-year-old from Lviv in the west of Ukraine.
(Mike, left, with Alex, right, in Ukraine)
So when Vladirmir Putin’s Russian army began it’s devastating assault on Ukraine late last month, Mike felt he had no choice but to make his way to Lviv in order to come to Alex’s aid.
Mike, originally from the Polish town of Krapkowice, has journeyed to Lviv from Liverpool via the Polish cities of Rzeszów and Medyka.
With the threat of conscription to the Ukrainian army hanging over Alex, both he and Mike have found themselves helping to coordinate the movement of refugees who are desperate to flee Ukraine.
And despite the obvious dangers, Mike wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now.
He says: “I had no choice - I had to come here to help Alex. Unfortunately just hours after I got here the Army announced mobilisation, so no man aged between 18 and 60 can leave Ukraine, for now.
“Until this changes, or until the end of the war, I’m going to be by Alex’s side - and also by the side of everyone here in Ukraine.”
(Mike's photo of those seeking shelter in Lviv)
While Lviv has not yet come under attack from Russian bombs, nearby towns have.
And Mike is working tirelessly at nearby bus and train stations trying to get as many people on transport and into Poland as he possibly can, often snatching just a few hours of sleep each night.
Mike, an accomplished science fiction writer and author of the novel Lux Aeterna, says the city of Lviv is braced for attack.
He adds: “We’re waiting for the darkest scenario. Putin is going to try to cut off Kyiv, and to do that he’s going to have to cut off the main corridor of supply, which is through Lviv, the city where I am now.
“We’ve had days where the air raid sirens have rung out across the city.
“I’ve been helping to coordinate the movements of refugees. We started with just a few hundred on the first day I was here. But that’s just a fraction of what’s going on now, as we send around 1,500 people to Poland each day. There’s a gigantic queue for the train which is four people deep and stretches for a mile out of the station.
(the situation on the ground in Lviv, as documented by Mike)
“There are more than 100 volunteers here, swapping shifts day and night, 24 hours per day. We have people coming from all over Ukraine to Lviv, because it’s currently the safest city.
“It’s really hard. A couple of nights ago, we had 250 children from an orphanage arrive, plus all the people from the train station and bus station. It took 30 buses and 30 private vans to get everyone out of Lviv.
“And the word ‘suffer’ holds a completely new meaning for me now. It’s devastating to see. I broke down yesterday at the reality of everything but it’s something you just have to deal with otherwise I’m useless to help the people here.
“I’m feeling strong and I have the support of those around me.”
(The humanitarian effort in Lviv)
Astonishingly, Mike and Alex are set to travel to the southern Ukrainian city of Ivano-frankivsk in the coming days on another rescue mission, as they attempt to get another group of friends to safety.
Speaking of the situation he finds himself in, Mike jokes: “Am I scared? No, I’m not. Not at all. The only thing I’m scared of is wasps and hornets, and it’s cold right now so frankly I’m fine!
“This is just something that I had to do, and as long as Alex is safe, I’m happy. And as long as all of these people are reaching the Polish border, then I’m happy.
“I wait every day for the messages telling me, ‘I’m here, Mike, we made it. I’m with friends and family’. That’s all I need. Then it’s on to the next people who approach us.
“I always expected the situation to escalate rapidly in Ukraine. Look at the history books and you’ll see how Poland was invaded in 1939 - and believe me, I’ve been to the holocaust museums.
“I’m telling everyone here we need to be organised and we need to be prepared for what comes next.”
(Fellow volunteers try to snatch some sleep)
Mike first met Alex in November last year, after he visited Lviv as part of a book research trip, and they’ve been in a relationship ever since.
You can follow Mike’s endeavours via his Facebook page and he’s uploading regular videos and images documenting his work.
Meanwhile Polskie Merseyside has been collecting donations of goods - including clothes and toiletries - to be send to the Poland-Ukraine border to help refugess. Please visit their Facebook page for further details of how you can help.