He’s only 4, but Maxim has been through hell. Now at last he’s safe, thanks to the money raised through the Mail Force Ukraine Refugee Appeal by our amazing readers
- Just days ago, Katerina Mozhna and her son Maxim, aged 4, were cowering in their home in Mykolaiv, Ukraine under a terrifying artillery bombardment
- Now, the pair have safely fled to Romania, thanks to generous MoS readers
- The Mail Force Ukraine Refugee Appeal was launched two weeks ago to help those families who have found themselves caught up in the spiralling crisis
Only days ago, Katerina Mozhna and her four-year-old son Maxim were cowering beneath a terrifying artillery bombardment in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv.
Now they are safe, having fled to Romania, where they were welcomed by the Red Cross, funded with help from generous Mail on Sunday readers.
‘I had to leave our home, my parents, and my husband in order to save my baby’s life,’ Katerina, 32, told the MoS last week.
The border with Romania near the town of Isaccea runs along the middle of the Danube River and up to 2,000 people a day are fleeing southern Ukraine via a small ferry. Aid agencies fear the number will soar to 50,000.
Katerina Mozhna and her four-year-old son Maxim have fled to Romania, where they were welcomed by the Red Cross, funded with help from generous Mail on Sunday readers
The refugees, some of whom are having to wait for 24 hours to make the crossing in freezing temperatures, are given tea, blankets, water and food by Red Cross volunteers as they stream off the ferry.
Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our readers, this critical humanitarian work can continue.
The Mail Force Ukraine Refugee Appeal was launched two weeks ago to help families caught up in the spiralling crisis.
The total amount donated to the appeal last night soared to an astonishing £6.6 million. It has already given money to organisations helping tens of thousands of refugees, including £500,000 of funding for the Red Cross.
Sheltering from the snow and biting wind in a tent on the banks of the Danube, Maxim played with a wooden train given to him by an aid worker while his worried mother looked on.
Maxim’s father Oleg stayed behind to fight in Mykolaiv, but Katerina tries to avoid talking about the war with her son.
The pair had to leave their home in Mykolaiv where many homes were damaged by shelling
An interior view shows a residential building damaged by shelling, amid the Russian invasion
Amateur jockey Maurice McCarthy’s race to raise thousands of pounds for Mail Force
Amatuer jockey Maurice McCarthy hopes to raise thousands of pounds for Mail Force by riding in a charity horse race later this month.
The 53-year-old – just one of The Mail on Sunday’s generous readers – will wear specially designed silks in the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag when he rides in the 5.15pm at Ludlow on March 23.
His friend Michael Owen, the former footballer and racehorse owner, has found him an eight-year-old horse to ride named Battered. ‘I am going to win for the Ukrainians,’ said Maurice last night. ‘The Mail has done an amazing job. The amount raised for Mail Force is phenomenal.’
Maurice, who has already raised £1,000, is one of many readers who have set up their own mini appeals for Mail Force.
Generous James Tait is running the Berlin half-marathon for Mail Force later this year, while ten-year-old Lilia is going to cycle 50 miles this month to raise money.
‘I don’t even try to explain it [to Maxim]. I just said we’re going on a journey. I don’t think a child should know about this, but of course he asks questions all the time – “What’s that bang? Why is Mummy afraid? Why is Mummy crying? Where is Daddy?” ’
She begins to cry as she describes the horror from which she has fled. ‘They detonate rockets, they blow things up…people are dying, houses are burning.’
Readers of the MoS, and its sister paper the Daily Mail, have sent an incredible 32,000 cheques, many accompanied by letters that have moved our staff to tears.
The scenes on the banks of the Danube show why such generosity is desperately needed. Many refugees have travelled about 200 miles from the city of Odessa, which is on the brink of being surrounded by advancing Russian forces.
The ferry makes about eight trips a day. Last week, cars queued on the Ukrainian side with refugees sleeping in them overnight.
‘It was so cold on the deck,’ said Larissa Kronenberger, who was fleeing with her daughter and six grandchildren. ‘It’s so hard to be kicked out of your own home. Especially with little children.’
As they waited, Larissa searched for nappies at the Red Cross tent, where volunteers hand out baby food, sanitary products, formula milk and toys. Aid worker Stefania Bejenaru brought nappies and asked, ‘What else do you need?’
‘What do I need?’ Larissa replied. ‘I left everything. I just didn’t have enough hands to carry things.’
Firefighter Jacob Claudiu, 37, has been a Red Cross volunteer for 14 years but has never witnessed such scenes. ‘There are so many children, all scared of the unknown, of another language, another place.’
Paying tribute to the generosity of Mail readers and other Red Cross donors, he added: ‘Some days we need hygiene products, some days food, and if you donate money, this is what it goes towards.’
As well as cheques, readers have sent money by bank transfer, telephone and via our JustGiving Page. The appeal was launched by a £500,000 donation from the Mail’s parent company DMGT at the personal request of Lord and Lady Rothermere.
As well as the money for the Red Cross, Mail Force has also sent £500,000 to Care International and Unicef. The Amar Foundation, a charity that helps children caught in conflict, has received £250,000.
Mike Adamson, chief executive of the British Red Cross, said: ‘We are extremely grateful to Mail readers for their generosity in supporting this appeal.’
Vital funds raised through the Mail Force Ukraine Refugee Appeal helped save little Luka
Born two days after Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine, Luka has known only war during his short life.
Indeed, his mother Valeria gave birth as the hospital in Kyiv in which she was being cared for came under bombardment.
Born with pneumonia, little Luka initially clung precariously to life. But his prospects have dramatically improved thanks in part to the astonishing generosity of Mail on Sunday readers.
The Mail Force Ukraine Refugee Appeal has sent £500,000 to Unicef to fund the life-saving work of its aid workers.
Born with pneumonia, little Luka initially clung precariously to life. But his prospects have dramatically improved thanks in part to the astonishing generosity of Mail on Sunday readers.
The charity was last week able to deliver critical medical supplies to ten hospitals and health centres caring for children in Kyiv, including that tending to Luka.
The supplies included respiration monitors, which warn doctors if the breathing of children with pneumonia such as Luka, becomes dangerously low.
After spending the first two weeks of his life underground in a shelter, Luka has now been moved to Okhmadyt children’s hospital also in Kyiv. Valeria, 42, last night said the doctors have worked ‘miracles’ and that Luka, her first child, is getting stronger.
‘Luka is making positive progress,’ she said. ‘I was feeling so helpless. Being a new mother in a war time is a nightmare.’
She recalled being woken by explosions on the day of the invasion and, fearing for the safety of her unborn baby, rushed to hospital. ‘The first day of war my husband and I spent in the basement of the maternity hospital,’ she explained. Two days later she gave birth as rockets landed outside. ‘The labour was happening as the district of Kyiv where our maternity hospital is located was heavily bombarded.
‘There were loud explosions but I was trying to stay focused and strong for my baby.’
Unicef is sending up to eight trucks into Ukraine each day filled with medical supplies and other aid.
Hailing the Mail’s readers, Murat Sahin, Unicef’s representative in Ukraine, said: ‘I am seeing on social media the amazing interest of children in the UK and also from your readers. It’s really motivating us. It’s keeping us going.’
The Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and MailOnline UKRAINE REFUGEE APPEAL
Readers of Mail Newspapers and MailOnline have always shown immense generosity at times of crisis.
Calling upon that human spirit, we are now launching an appeal to raise money for refugees from Ukraine.
For, surely, no one can fail to be moved by the heartbreaking images and stories of families – mostly women, children, the infirm and elderly – fleeing from Russia’s invading armed forces.
As this tally of misery increases over the coming days and months, these innocent victims of a tyrant will require accommodation, schools and medical support.
All donations to the Mail Ukraine Appeal will be distributed to charities and aid organisations providing such essential services.
In the name of charity and compassion, we urge all our readers to give swiftly and generously.
TO MAKE A DONATION ONLINE
Donate at www.mailforcecharity.co.uk/donate
To add Gift Aid to a donation – even one already made – complete an online form found here: mymail.co.uk/ukraine
Via bank transfer, please use these details:
Account name: Mail Force Charity
Account number: 48867365
Sort code: 60-00-01
TO MAKE A DONATION VIA CHEQUE
Make your cheque payable to ‘Mail Force’ and post it to: Mail Newspapers Ukraine Appeal, GFM, 42 Phoenix Court, Hawkins Road, Colchester, Essex CO2 8JY
TO MAKE A DONATION FROM THE US
US readers can donate to the appeal via a bank transfer to Associated Newspapers or by sending checks to dailymail.com HQ at 51 Astor Place (9th floor), New York, NY 10003
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