Italian man drives 5,000 km nonstop to save Ukrainian fiancée and her two kids

DUBAI: A 48-year-old Italian man has made a 5,000 kilometer round-trip across Europe to save his fiancée and her two children from war-torn Ukraine and bring them to safety within four days.
Sicily-based Davide Dipietro, who works for a private fishing company based in Pachino, was set to reunite with his Ukrainian fiancée, Nathalia, on March 20, the date when she was scheduled to travel to Italy.
As Russia initiated military action against Ukraine last month, though, Kyiv-based Nathalia and her two children, aged 11 and 14, were forced to escape from heavy bombardment as Russian forces reached the capital, and took refuge at a friend’s house at the Polish-Ukrainian border.
According to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Dipietro, along with a friend, jumped into his minibus and took off on a journey to save the “love of his life” and her two children on Feb. 28.
Media reports said he drove across Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland, nonstop and without taking a rest until he reached the Polish city Krakow.
Nathalia, a physiotherapist, and her children had to walk for four kilometers to reach Krakow before she was reunited with her future husband.
The couple got engaged last year and the plan was for Nathalia and her children to travel to Sicily on March 20 to live with Dipietro.
With photos, video and live streaming, Dipietro documented his nonstop trip on social media. He drove roughly 5,000 kilometers in total until they reached Sicily on March 3.
In one of his Facebook posts documenting the trip, Dipietro said that although his story reached a happy ending, he still remained a witness to the “exodus of terrified and tearful Ukrainian refugees on the border.”
La Repubblica reported that Dipietro’s employer is set to hire Natalia to work for the company.