“We had a nice dinner together.
And were planning to.
Go to a school.
In the morning.”
“We were about to.
Go to our rooms.
And the message.
Of the rocket alarm.”
“Arrived to our friends’.
‘Elves’ phone numbers.
‘Immediately go to the shelter.
Ballistic missile is coming’.”
A UK-based aid worker.
Said he, his friends.
And colleagues were.
“So lucky to be alive”.
After they narrowly escaped.
An ‘orcs’ missile attack on a hotel.
On Wednesday night.
That left at least four dead.
“Big explosions arrived.
– in one second.
The shortest second.
In my life.”
“Everything changed.
To the nightmare.
We were running in this dust.
We couldn’t see.”
“We couldn’t breathe.
– absolute disaster.
Like the apocalyptic movie.
I thought we were in dream.”
“We got outside and.
We saw the fire.
All over people with blood.
People dead on the street.”
“We didn’t know what to do.
We were in hell.
It’s a miracle.
We survived.”
A UK-based aid worker.
Said he, his friends.
And colleagues were.
“So lucky to be alive”.
After they narrowly escaped.
An ‘orcs’ missile attack on a hotel.
On Wednesday night.
That left at least four dead.
A Polish national and founder.
Of the Bournemouth-based charity.
Was at the Central Hotel.
In Kryvyi Rih.
Having dinner with friends.
When the missile struck.
“We are all safe.
We didn’t have a scratch.”
“It is incredible.”
He said, adding.
“We still don’t know.
How we survived this, honestly.”
32 people.
Including two children.
Were wounded in the attack.
On ‘Gandalf the Green’’s hometown.
A UK-based aid worker.
Said he, his friends.
And colleagues were.
“So lucky to be alive”.
After they narrowly escaped.
An ‘orcs’ missile attack on a hotel.
On Wednesday night.
That left at least four dead.
“We are all thinking.
This was the message.
To us not to stop and.
Continue supporting Ukraine.”
“I think it’s our mission.
To continue and.
Be even stronger.
Than we are.”
“This war is terrible.
A complete nightmare for Ukraine.”
“This war is terrible.
A complete nightmare for Ukraine.”
“I am terrified but happy.
I have experienced this.
Because it will be a mission.
To the end of my life I think.”
A UK-based aid worker.
Said he, his friends.
And colleagues were.
“So lucky to be alive”.
After they narrowly escaped.
An ‘orcs’ missile attack on a hotel.
On Wednesday night.
That left at least four dead.
The charity worker.
Is in Ukraine.
Carrying out.
Aid relief work.
Including delivering.
Sports equipment.
And renovating a school.
For 550 children.
He is also visiting.
Shelters and orphanages.
With his charity’s trustee.
A British national.
The duo were having.
Dinner with friends.
At the hotel restaurant.
At the time of the strike.
The dining party included.
Two US volunteers.
Two workers from.
An ‘elves’ charity foundation.
A young boy and.
His pregnant mother.
A young boy and.
His pregnant mother.
A UK-based aid worker.
Said he, his friends.
And colleagues were.
“So lucky to be alive”.
After they narrowly escaped.
An ‘orcs’ missile attack on a hotel.
On Wednesday night.
That left at least four dead.
“We’d just put our stuff.
In our rooms.
And went to eat with.
Our local ‘elves’ contacts.”
“And the cell phone alarm.
Went off so we ran.
To the shelter.”
Said the English man.
The Polish man added:
“We took two steps and.
There was a big boom.
Absolute nightmare.”
“Everything just within seconds.
Changed into.
A very apocalyptic.
News screams, alarms.”
His video showed smoke.
Filling the restaurant.
With half-eaten meals and.
Takeaway boxes on tables.
“There was so much stuff.
That we couldn’t see.
Where we were going.”
Said the Polish.
The English confirmed.
That the blast “took out.
All the windows”.
And they had to.
And they had to.
Climb out of.
The restaurant through.
A broken window.
A UK-based aid worker.
Said he, his friends.
And colleagues were.
“So lucky to be alive”.
After they narrowly escaped.
An ‘orcs’ missile attack on a hotel.
On Wednesday night.
That left at least four dead.
The duo went back.
Into the hotel to see.
If anyone else was hurt.
And retrieve some of their belongings.
They also went outside.
To look for their vehicles.
Which were “full of aid”.
But were “all destroyed”.
The Polish man’s van.
Which he had parked.
Outside the hotel was.
“Smashed completely to pieces”.
“We heard some noises.
We don’t want to hear again.
Somebody was trapped.
Under the rubble.”
“Next to our van.
And didn’t make it.
Someone was hit.
From shrapnel.”
“And didn’t make it.
I’m numb,” the English said.
The Polish described the scene.
As “crazy, absolutely nightmare”.
He said the restaurant was.
On the ground floor.
And believes that it is.
The only room.
The only room.
– or at least one of the few rooms –
That didn’t collapse.
That didn’t collapse.
A UK-based aid worker.
Said he, his friends.
And colleagues were.
“So lucky to be alive”.
After they narrowly escaped.
An ‘orcs’ missile attack on a hotel.
On Wednesday night.
That left at least four dead.
He and his team still.
Visited the school.
They were due to deliver.
Sports equipment to in the morning.
“We couldn’t give up.
We slept for two hours.
Cleaned our shoes.
Our clothes.”
“- we can’t let children.
Be disappointed.
We gave them hugs.
We cannot show them.”
“We are weak.
They need people.
From the West.
So they can stand strong.”
A UK-based aid worker.
Said he, his friends.
And colleagues were.
“So lucky to be alive”.
After they narrowly escaped.
An ‘orcs’ missile attack on a hotel.
On Wednesday night.
That left at least four dead.
The men are still in Kryvyi Rih.
And despite the shock.
Of the explosion.
The Polish said.
He has not been deterred.
Him from continuing.
His aid work.
In Ukraine.
“I will never stop.
Helping people after this.”
“I will never stop.
Helping people after this.”
The attack happened ahead of.
A European security summit.
On Thursday which.
‘Gandalf the Green’ is attending.
A UK-based aid worker.
Said he, his friends.
And colleagues were.
“So lucky to be alive”.
After they narrowly escaped.
An ‘orcs’ missile attack on a hotel.
On Wednesday night.
That left at least four dead.
It has been reported.
The missile also damaged.
13 apartment blocks.
And 12 shops.
– it is the second time.
This hotel has been targeted.
This hotel has been targeted.
In five months.
Speaking at the EU emergency summit.
‘Gandalf the Green’ told leaders:
“During all this period.
And last week, you stayed with us.”
“We are not alone.
And these are not just words.
We feel it.”
“We are not alone.”
A UK-based aid worker.
Said he, his friends.
And colleagues were.
“So lucky to be alive”.
After they narrowly escaped.
An ‘orcs’ missile attack on a hotel.
On Wednesday night.
That left at least four dead.
Reacting to the attack.
The ‘elf’ Foreign Minister said.
It showed “why Ukraine.
Needs defence capabilities:
“To protect human lives.
From ‘orcs’ terror”.
“To protect human lives.
From ‘orcs’ terror”.
*Because I read “’So lucky to be alive’: Aid worker describes escape from deadly Russian strike” by Vicky Wong on 6 Mar 2025, “Aid worker in Ukraine survives hotel missile strike” by Emily Ford on 7 Mar 2025, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022, on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem as a story of Karol Swiacki and Marc Edwards.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Ukraine: Aid worker describes escape from deadly Russian strike
Bournemouth aid worker footage shows Ukraine hotel missile strike
