Among the Italians who were stranded in Kiev during the fateful night (between 23 and 24 February) of the Russian advance on Ukrainian soil, also the historic pivot of Varese Cristiano Zanus Fortes. Winner of the 1999 championship, Zanus Fortes was in the Ukrainian capital with his partner on the day of the first bombings. The following Friday, the two were supposed to attend the premiere of their play. But at night, the Russian attacks broke the sleep of an entire nation.
From there, the ordeal began for Zanus Fortes and his partner: at first they took refuge together with the rest of the civilians in the underground passages of the subway, then they rushed to the Italian embassy and were subsequently sorted into two safe locations.. “We were more than 100 people in the same house. When we heard the sirens, we went down to an underground shelter”, says the Italian basketball player. “There were also mothers with babies of a few months. A Ukrainian girl, expert in weapons, explained to us every kind of explosion we heard …
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The key thing was to try to keep yourself distracted in some way so as not to get desperate: I cooked for three days for 100 people.
The green light to abandon the war arrived on Saturday: Zanus Fortes and his partner decided to take a risk by boarding mini-buses headed for the Moldovan border. The Italian group found refreshment among the homes of civilians. “After 12 hours of travel, even on dirt roads to avoid the riskiest main ones, in the middle of the night a Ukrainian lady who lived alone hosted all 20 of us, giving us food. A wonderful gesture of pure solidarity from one person that she was experiencing what we lived too. Indeed, much worse. Because she lives there. Many of us slept on the ground, then at dawn we resumed the journey towards the border “.
Arriving safely in Moldova, the couple then took a taxi to Romania. A last minute flight to Verona brought them back within friendly walls. “Being safe is just a relief. We lived through a nightmare that was impossible to describe in words.
We are angry and sad about what millions of people in Ukraine are continuing to experience. There is no time to waste, and for this reason I have already activated myself for a collection of basic necessities. The Ukrainian people need everything: food, clothing, medicine.
“I ask each person to contact their Municipality because so many Italian cities are setting up collection centers”, concludes Zanus Fortes, who landed on Tuesday 1 March in Italy.
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