Ukraine conflict: Scot escapes with newborn baby son

Three Scots are among hundreds of thousands of people who made a desperate bid to flee Ukraine following the invasion by Russia last week. They have spoken to BBC Scotland about their experiences.

Ken Stewart managed to escape Ukraine with his newborn baby but says he feels guilty about those he has left behind.

He made it to Poland after a 40-hour wait in a line at the border and hopes to make it to Aberdeenshire by the weekend.

The father-of-two fled his home 40 miles west of Kyiv with his Ukranian wife Tania, three-year-old Yaryna and two-week-old baby Douglas on Friday.

They drove west towards the Polish border, knowing they were skirting the border of Belarus, and Russian military.

"If we hadn't left when we did, we wouldn't have left," he told BBC Scotland from Warsaw.

"We drove through Borodyanka which we believe has been levelled now. We are out but feel guilty."

After living in Ukraine for 15 years, he said he was devastated to see his city taken apart by Russian artillery, cruise missiles and bombs.

"I've left a lot of people behind, including my wife's family, and it hurts really hard. I feel very bad about leaving them.

"I knew I had to make the decision to get the kids out so I have to stick with that. And I won't regret it but I feel guilty all the same."

Ken believes Tania will be granted a visa soon and that they will try to rebuild their lives at his mother's home in Aberdeenshire.

He doesn't think what they did was brave.

"It's just a smart move as far as the kids are concerned.. Brave is the way the Ukranians are behaving now - defending their country incredibly," he said.

"I knew they had it in them. I'm not surprised, I am proud of these people coming together. Everyone's looking after each other. I am proud of them and kind of feel I should be there for them."

Last week Sean Cusick cut short a BBC Scotland interview when he heard a tank approaching - on Wednesday the same happened during a bombing.

He was speaking from his home in in Kharkiv - the country's second largest city and about 24 miles (40km) from Ukraine's eastern border.

Sean was stranded with his wife and two-year-old son - they had to run between their home and a bomb shelter when they heard oncoming attacks.

They told the BBC they had been sleeping in their shoes so they could make a quicker getaway.

On Tuesday, Sean said: "We are very exhausted. We're hoping to catch a train - there are more and more evacuation trains provided by the Ukrainian government.

"We had planned to do it today but the opportunity was interrupted by shelling. There's also a curfew in place so we're limited in our movement and when we can move about so we're going to attempt again tomorrow morning. From there we'll head to the nearest border."

Sean, who is originally from Glasgow, and his family first took cover last week when they heard explosions nearby.

He described the shelter as "incredibly cold, cramped and damp" but said there were warm clothes and food - though the couple added they have barely eaten in days.

The couple have been attempting to leave Ukraine for the UK since they got married in November, but have been hit with several financial and bureaucratic hurdles.

Sean's wife had been living in China for 10 years previously, and her passport and ID were therefore invalid when she returned home - a problem that was further complicated by her name change.

On Wednesday night, Sean tweeted: "We're on a train. Not sure of destination, other than 'not Lviv' and near a border. Once there will arrange next steps." He later confirmed they had reached Ternopyl in west of the country.

Stuart McKenzie says he was one of the fortunate few who was able to leave Ukraine within 24 hours of the invasion - a move that was only possible because he got up early and lived next to a motorway.

It took nine hours for the businessman to drive his wife, Lena, and their young children into Poland on Friday and they have since secured a room in a hotel.

However, he fears resources in Poland are running short - and his brother's family are among the millions still trying to leave Ukraine by car.

"It's going so slow," said Stuart. "People are in queues for four days, sleeping in their cars and cold."

"They can't afford to even put their cars on because they can't afford to burn the fuel because there's no fuel - even when you get over the border to Poland those stations are out of fuel."

The UN says more than half a million refugees have now fled Ukraine for neighbouring countries.

And the situation on the ground in Europe's second largest country is desperate.

Stuart said: "Its dangerous - there's potholes, people driving panicked, there's people dying.

"An old lady died in front of my brother's car the other day - of old age in the cold. There's no toilets, medicines, things like this - it's very hard.

"I see every day more and more cars with Ukrainian number plates.

"Hotels have started to get busier, the Ukrainian embassy here and others are trying to put together databases of accommodation - but there are millions on the other side."