First they cut off the electricity and water. Then came the deafening explosions and the fire burning everything in its path. Then came fear for the only thing Leonid had left in Ukraine – his faithful cat.

On the day the war broke out, the senior citizen was in his flat in Bucha. He had moved there from Mariupol four years earlier. The joy of his new home did not last long, because soon after they moved, Mr Leonid’s wife died. He was left alone and his only companion was a cat.

Hearing about the war breaking out, Leonid did not want to run away. Even when the Russians cut off the gas, he searched the nearby construction site on his hands and knees to collect at least a few pieces of wood with which to light a small fire. He spent several days like this, sharing meagre boiled potatoes with the cat. Piece by piece, he patiently fed his little companion, who was bewildered by the noise of the bombs.

He had nothing else to eat, nothing else to share. He dreamt of a piece of bread.

Then a bomb fell on a residential building just 200 metres from Leonid’s block. Another one hit the fuel depot on the other side of the block. When news came that an attempt to evacuate the residents would soon be made, Leonid did not think twice. On the appointed day he arrived at the assembly point, where he waited for five hours. The residents were terrified – not everyone had the courage to reach the meeting point – so the empty buses were halted. At the last minute, he met a kind man who invited him into his car, which was ready to leave the town.

When an armed Russian soldier approached them, they expected the worst. To their surprise, the Russian gave the sign that they could leave. It was a miracle!

The journey to Kiev, which normally takes half an hour, took five hours. The road infrastructure was bombed. On the way they passed many incinerated cars and the bodies of dead people. How many? Too many to remember. And at the same time too many to ever forget.

They arrived at Kiev station at the last moment – two minutes before departure for Lviv, Mr Leonid managed to hop on the train with his cat.

Ivan, our Good Factory team member on the Ukrainian side, together with his father, has taken care of Mr Leonid. He found him a modest living space, pays his gas and electricity bills and provides him with food on a regular basis. And this wonderful bread, which Mr Leonid never expected to see again after long weeks of hunger. Mr Leonid received the last parcel, full of food and hygiene products, from the Good Factory – that is from you!

You have been sharing bread and support with those in need since the first week of the war, the scale of which continues to shock us every day. When we ask you for donations, we are not simply asking for money “to help”. We are asking for funds to buy one more loaf of bread for Mr Leonid. To pay the gas bill so that Leonid doesn’t get cold at night. And finally, that we can continue to organise shipments of food, which are literally life-saving. And if you find even a few PLN in your pocket, which you would like to share, please know that it will only go to the good hands of those in real need.