The clear anticipation of a war was hanging in the air since the beginning of February, and they were keeping their car fully fuelled ready to leave the capital if necessary.

Iryna Zaiets, 35, waved her hand across the bed and even through sleep felt emptiness in the place where her husband Vitaly, 35, was supposed to be. This unusual feeling forced her to open her eyes. An alarm clock showed only about 4 a.m. and then she saw Vitaliy nervously smoking on a balcony. The sky on Kyiv`s horizon was orange-red, like a sunrise – an impossible thing at such an early time in winter. Vitaly turned to her and said that Kyiv started being bombed.

Iryna`s phone rang. It was her sister Olha who lived in Australia. Western news agencies had reported that Russia launched the large-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kyiv sky was painted in orange-red colors not by the sun but by distant explosions.

Iryna and Vitaly grabbed their 8-month-old daughter Oksana and a few bags with the most important belongings, mainly children's clothes and medicine. About 5 a.m. they started their way from Kyiv to North-western Ukraine, to the village where Iryna`s parents lived.

The roads were overloaded with thousands of cars. This is, probably, how war looks from the point of view of civilians: endless traffic jam, the red light of cars that are heading in front of you and occasional military trucks. And fear to be caught here, in the open space, by a sudden air raid.

It took about 24 hours for them to reach the parent`s house instead of the usual 7. The initial plan was to stay there. But it had already become clear that there is no safe place in Ukraine because Russians had been bombing all country`s territory.

Without taking a rest Iryna and her mother Olena went to the Ukraine-Poland border. The father refused to leave the family`s home and cherished garden: often our roots and ties are stronger than the threat of death. Vitaly also went back to Kyiv – he had to look after his mother who was dying from cancer.

Poland was among the first countries that opened borders for Ukrainian refugees, minimizing all the procedures. Meanwhile, there were tens of thousands of people at each crossing and they continued arriving. Polish guards did their best, but still, people spent days in queues.

To keep breastfeeding her baby Iryna forced herself to drink condensed milk, the only food her stomach accepted in these stressful circumstances. On the third day of the exodus, the family reached Krakow, located 900 kilometres away from Kyiv. They found free accommodation in the Polish-Ukrainian family of Wowa and Kristina Skrzycki, who organized a sort of “stay-for-rest” base for refugees in their apartment.

The Russian Army had been continuing the onslaught. Moreover, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, ordered the Russian nuclear forces to be brought to combat readiness. Maybe it was just blackmail but dreadful enough for the parents of a baby, whose life started only several months ago.

Iryna called her sister Olha to Sydney asking if she could accommodate them. “Go immediately”, - Olha answered and booked air tickets for the whole family. It seemed Iryna, her daughter Oksana and mother Olena should undertake the last effort to reach the absolutely safe place.

At Krakow`s airport check-in counter they were overwhelmed with the news: everyone can board except 8 months old Oksana who needed a separate ID for international travel. A birth certificate didn't work.

Polish migration officers were extremely kind but they could do nothing: even if they were allowed to board in Krakow, the family got stuck at the next stopover according to the existing travel regulations.

The situation seemed hopeless. The tickets and money were lost. But even worse, a new passport couldn`t be issued, because access to all administrative databases was restricted due to the war to prevent the leaking of Ukrainians' personal data to occupants.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities were understanding the problem and several days later adopted a regulation allowing kids to travel with a special ID stamp on their parent's passports. This service was provided in the consulates of Ukraine abroad. The nearest was in Krakow.

Olha borrowed money from her Australian friends and arranged tickets once again. Finally, in the middle of March Iryna, Olena and little Oksana landed in Sydney. When they met Olha they started crying with the understanding that the war left behind them. They were absolutely safe. They were completely exhausted.

After 3 weeks' rest, Iryna submitted her CV to job portals. A potential employer contacted her promptly. For the last decade, Iryna worked in the R&D branch of a big Ukrainian pharmaceutical company. Her skills and knowledge appeared to be in high demand in Australia.

JobEntry.au specialists helped her to prepare for the interview at EnGeneIC, an Australian biopharma company that performs research, development and manufacturing of targeted anti-cancer therapies. And Iryna got the dream job for every pharmaceutical researcher – to work on the essential issues for humankind hand to hand with one of the most prominent world scientists.

Today all Zaiets family is reunited. Vitaly`s mother passed away in May and after burial, he went to Australia to his wife and child, locked their apartment in shelled Kyiv for an indefinite time.

Having the same R&D experience he is planning to join Iryna in the pharmaceutical industry later after their daughter will become a bit older and can be left with a babysitter. This is not only about the career: Vitaly wants to pay off cancer that took the life of his mum.

“We want our daughter to live in a better world. Where one day you do not wake up due to airstrikes. Where your loved ones do not die due to cancer. We work hard reassembling our lives here and donate money to a Ukrainian volunteer fund, bringing closer the victory of our country. We are thankful to Australia for the opportunity to be here in safety and to do what we are doing. And, of course, we are thankful for Bushmasters – on behalf of all Ukrainians”.