(This story is part of the refugee exodus coverage from Ukraine to Romania in March 2022)

Dmitriy has a case of zoomies.

Mom and him just spent hours in line at the border, mom is too stressed out, and Dmitriy is looking for shenanigans.

So he darts and tries to escape the boring huddle of adults talking endlessly over some papers.

Little does he know, there’s no babysitter better than a bunch of Romanian firefighters.

And he’s surrounded on all sides.

He gets caught once, breaks into a fit of happy giggles and quickly figures out the protocol: get caught; start wiggling to be put down again, dart. Rinse and repeat.

The firefighters are too happy to oblige.

While volunteers help Mom figure out their next moves, Dmitriy is showered with toys, treats, and attention from a dozen of his new Romanian uncles in black.

As Mom and Dmitriy finally walk off into the unknown, he keeps looking back at them.

We turn to face another group of women with children who may never see their own fathers again.

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