Hi, my name is Volodymyr. My home, Ukraine has become a warzone. Russia has been attacking our home and most of us are trying to escape including me, my family, and friends.

It all started with a normal Saturday morning without school, hanging out with my family. We were just going to the park to spend quality time. “What do you guys want to eat?” my dad said. “I want to eat Kutia,” I said. “Sure I am fine with it,” my little sister. 

Then we heard the sound of an explosion. “What was that?” I worriedly said. “It’s probably just fireworks just to celebrate something. We shouldn’t worry about it,” my mom said. “Are you sure?” I said. I was scared for the first time since 6th grade when I heard a firework and couldn’t sleep the whole night. Then we hear another sound but even closer. “That definitely was not a firework,” I said. “We should get out of here,” my little sister said. “Stop worrying about it. We don’t have to go, nothing bad is going to happen,” my dad says. “Come on, we really shouldn’t take the risk of us being in danger,” I say. “I agree,” my little sister says. 

Then we hear screaming. “We should really go. This is getting way too creepy,” I said. “Yeah, we should go home. Let's hurry,” my mom says. We heard another big explosion but this time it was way closer. 

So far it's not going so well as we have been waiting for the train for over a day. I am starting to lose hope of escaping Ukraine as we have to get to Poland. My sister complains, “This is the 4th time it's been canceled today!” “We should just get out of here already, we should try to find some other way out,” I said. “What other way do we have? It's too dangerous,” my mother said. I thought to myself, “Maybe we can escape by bus or maybe by boat.” 

We pick up our stuff and start to leave the train station. We went to find the nearest area to get picked up by the bus and we got on the bus to start to head there. We sat down and got comfortable for the long ride to Poland. We heard another explosion in the distance. I was starting to get a bit worried. Then I heard another explosion. Then the explosions got closer, closer, and closer. I thought to myself, “What if the explosions get too close.” I started to daze off and stopped thinking about the explosion

I was woken up by my sister asking, “What’s that plane doing?” The bus driver yelled, “EVERYONE GET DOWN AS LOW AS YOU CAN!” I panicked and fell out of my seat. I dropped to the ground, then I heard the explosion, ringing in my ears. I have never heard an explosion this close before. As I got back up I saw the plane roar by. “That was close I said under my breath,” I said. Then I heard another explosion behind us. It felt like it was burning my skin off. “That was another close call,” the bus driver said. 

I discovered that a big piece of the bus ended up getting blown up. We decided to ditch the bus and head to the border until we saw in the far distance Russian soldiers with weapons and tanks. We all dropped our stuff and ran as fast as we could. For some reason, my dad was falling behind. I thought, “Why is he falling behind?” Luckily nobody was left behind. 

We got to the shelter and when we were checking everybody for injuries. Then we found out why my dad was falling behind earlier. My dad had a big sharp piece of shrapnel sticking out the side of his leg. “Dad, what happened? Are you okay?” I exclaimed. “I am okay, don’t worry about me. Let's focus on getting out of here.” We decided to sleep at the shelter for the night. 

The next day we continued walking towards the border. Due to my dad's injuries, our progress was slowed. After walking for hours, we decided to take a break near a hill for a meal. Our food and water supply were starting to run dangerously low. My sister said, “I am going to go explore the area and have fun.” “Go watch her to make sure she is safe Volodymyr and don’t go too far,” my mom formally tells me. “Ok, I will go with her,” I say. As my sister runs off, I follow her. She starts heading up the hill. As she runs off, I yell at her to slow down. I abruptly stop in shock as I see the border. Grabbing my sister's hand we walk back down the hill and inform the adults that the border is close by. 

Everyone starts cheering and celebrating as their journey is almost over. While we were celebrating we heard people yelling and marching. I turn around and I see a group of soldiers and tanks heading towards us. “THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, RUN!” I yell. Everyone starts panicking and starts running. As I was running, I remembered that my Dad was injured.
Frantically turning around I run to him and try to help him up. Suddenly, I hear gunshots and explosions behind us. “Go on without me and help the others!” My dad says. “No, I have to save you!” I say. “It's for the better you because if you carry me, then we will both be killed,” my dad calmly says. “I can’t leave you. I just can’t do it, Dad,” I desperately yell. “It’s ok we will see each other again I promise,” my dad. I try to pick him up, but a bullet whizzes past my head. My dad tells me again. “Run. Take care of your mother and sister for me,” my dad said. With tears streaming across my face, I run as fast as I can. I glance behind me and see three Russian soldiers pick him up and carry him away. Biting my lip and resisting the urge to go back and save him, I continue running. His words echo in my head, “It's ok we will see each other again I promise.” I shake my head and continue running as I see the border get closer and closer. I finally reunited with my mom and sister. “Where's dad?” My sister asks. “He-es He's gone. Captured by the Russians,” I say. My mom bursts into tears, as she falls to the ground hugging my sister and me. We all cry together, remembering and honoring our father’s sacrifice.