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Ivan Zamfirov is one of 300 people staying at the MoldExpo event centre in Chisinau after his family fled from their home near Odesa.
The construction worker, 34, owned three properties in Ukraine but is now in a 10x20ft room with his wife and two young children.
He said: “I heard some bombs which I thought were fireworks. I didn’t believe the war had started.”
“For the first couple of hours, I pretended life was OK. Then there was another much stronger explosion that blew open the windows and doors of our house.”
Ivan packed a small sports bag with essentials and the family walked 12 miles to the border as they could not get fuel for transport. They want to go to Bulgaria where Ivan may find work.
MoldExpo is managed by the state and offers support for refugees to plan their next move. Volunteers are on hand to give parents a break with activities for the 100 children living there.
Oxana Hadjipulo, 43, travelled from Odesa with her four children and her daughter’s friend, who also has a son. They arrived on March 7.
Oxana said: “We’re given food here, diapers for the children. “It’s difficult to take a proper shower but it’s warm and we have a bed.”
Alexei Chebaevskii, 42, had just arrived with his wife and four daughters after fleeing Donetsk. He said: “I have a niece in Mariupol. For three weeks she has stayed in a shelter underground. “You don’t want that kind of situation for your kids.”
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