Help Sergii, Ukrainian artist, now a refugee

My name is Lyudmyla, and I am fundraising for my dad, Sergii Tsykalov. He is an artist, and until a few weeks ago he lived in his apartment in Kyiv, Ukraine. When the Russian army invaded Ukraine, he didn't want to leave his home. First, he could not believe that things could turn so tragically. He also had too much to leave behind, all his life. Then, he was simply scared to travel under the indiscriminate fire of Russian soldiers.

He spent nine days in a barricaded apartment, with air raid sirens and sounds of explosions, sleeping in the corridor as far as possible from windows covered with wooden panels. He took selfies in the bathroom that had become his living room...

Finally, he agreed to flee. He could bring only one small backpack. Because on the train, bigger luggage would be taking the space of a fleeing child.

It took an incredible level of logistics involving several countries and much help from kind people to get him to the train station, located just 6 miles away. The pictures of the central train station, overcrowded with desperate people, that day made it to the news outlets around the world.

He took a train to Lviv, spent the night at the train station, and continued his trip to Poland. The next night was on the border. I asked whether he made any pictures. He replied that it didn't feel right to take photos of families with young children covered with snow waiting to cross the border in the middle of the night.

And so his travel continued. After three more days, he finally arrived at his friend's place in a rural area in central France. No more night air raid sirens. He is lucky to be safe and privileged to have a place to stay.

Now, he is starting a new chapter of his life, with only his small backpack and without knowing whether he will be ever able to return home.

My father is still overcoming the trauma of what he experienced: the war, the loss and the refugee trip. He also is navigating insecurity of what comes next. We still don't know what kind of assistance he will receive in France and eventually for how long.

We need your help to provide him with the means to get through this period and settle in a very new place.