Wollongong politico turned Ukraine war correspondent, Misha Zelinsky, has fled the country's capital amid fierce fighting between Russian forces and Ukrainian troops.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Zelinsky, an expert in political warfare and foreign policy who also the assistant national secretary of the Australian Workers' Union, flew to Ukraine eight days ago to cover the emerging conflict for the Australian Financial Review newspaper.
He had been based in the capital, Kyiv, since his arrival and told the Mercury on Friday that the city was getting "tenser and tenser" in the wake of missile strikes on the beleaguered city.
"There has been a dramatic shift in the last 24 hours," he said at the time.
"I've slept three hours in two days."
However, Zelinsky revealed in a post on Twitter on Sunday morning (Sunday evening Australian time) that he had fled Kyiv overnight for the relative safe-haven of Lviv, in western Ukraine.
In an interview with American cable news channel MSNBC, Zelinsky said escaping the besieged capital had not been easy.
"There's no cars, it was extremely difficult to get out of Kyiv, the trains are chaotic and packed," he said.
He told the broadcast he had managed to hitch a ride with two Swedish medical students, sitting in the back of their car with their Doberman dog for the 13-14 hour drive.
"It was pretty chaotic because roads were shut, bridges were being blown [and] the Ukrainian military are also blocking certain passages so we had to find a route through," he said.
"We literally had to go through the middle of two different Russian active forces. There was a road available, we followed another local and got through thankfully.
"We drove past some live fire from Ukrainian mortar shelling and so that was literally 10 metres from the side of the road."
Zelinsky said while Lviv itself was calm, the roads heading west were clogged with people trying to escape the conflict and seeking shelter in neighbouring countries including Poland and Romania.
Zelinsky said there was no accomodation available when he and students arrived in Lviv but that they had managed to find a school taking in refugees.
"We all slept on the floor of the school gym," he said.
In another Tweet posted an hour ago, Zelinsky said there were a "huge amount" of refugees in Lviv.
"Local schools gearing up to house people," he wrote.
"City and country at maximum effort to repel Russians and help as many people as possible. Best and worst of humanity."
Meanwhile, Zelinsky's efforts from the warzone have attracted praise from ex-PM Malcolm Turnbull, who Tweeted his support: "great job Misha! William Guthrie Spence would be proud of you", invoking the memory of the 19th century trade unionist who helped establish the Australian Labor Party.
Zelinsky, who has Russian heritage and speaks the language, told the Mercury on Friday he would remain in Ukraine as long as it was safe to stay.
"I'm playing it be ear, and listening to the advice," he said, revealing he had been spurred into travelling to the warzone because he believed in the "cause of democracy".
"I was prepared to take the risk, because I believe in it," he said.
"I don't have a wife and kids and I'm not risking anyone else.
"This is where history is being made.
"I believe there are stories here to be told and I believe I can contribute to that."
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.
