Hockey player recalls escaping Ukraine as Russia began invasion, riding the 'Train of Death' out of country

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A professional hockey player playing in Ukraine recalled the harrowing tale of escaping the country as Russian forces invaded the Donetsk region last week.

Eliezer Sherbatov, a Canadian-Israeli player who was on HC Mariupol of the Ukrainian Hockey League, told TSN he was preparing for a game when a bomb had exploded outside his hotel.

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The Ukraine flag is seen during the Champions Hockey League Final between Rogle Angelholm and Tappara Tampere at Catena Arena on March 01, 2022 in Angelholm, Sweden. (Martin Rose/Getty Images)

"At 5 a.m., I’m sleeping and hear: ‘Boom!’ You never hear that strong of a sound. And it starts shaking, everything is shaking. So, a couple of meters away, the war started," he told TSN.

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Sherbatov said his coach told the team members he would like them to stay but if they decided to leave it would be up to them. He said he was trying to get on a train to Lviv, but it was two days late, and he was being told that trains were getting shot at.

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Damage due to armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine in Donetsk region under the control of pro-Russian separatists, eastern Ukraine, on Feb. 28, 2022. (Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

"It’s a 50/50 … chance. That’s what they said. That’s a 50/50 chance, [if] you go on the train, you [may] die. Tell me, what would you do? What decision would you take?" he asked rhetorically. "You stay, you go to a bomb shelter, and you hope that a person doesn’t put a grenade inside the bomb shelter … Or you take the train and have a 50/50 chance at survival."

He said the train traveled west through Kyiv as the capital was coming under fire and finally got to Warsaw.

"Imagine how I felt in that 24 hours. I called this train the Train Of Death because every single second, you think you’re going to get shot. It’s army everywhere – you just don’t know which," he said.

Sherbatov is now back in Canada with his wife and child.

Damage due to armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine in Donetsk region under the control of pro-Russian separatists, eastern Ukraine, on Feb. 28, 2022. (Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

"When I got home to my family, it’s emotions. It’s crying. I met my son for the first time, and I thought I would never see them," he said. "I thought I would never see my family. They were sleeping and my daughter was sleeping, and I just went to beside her. I hugged her and I just stayed there, just crying and stayed there."

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The Ukraine Hockey League suspended play on Feb. 24 as Russian forces began to move into the country. Ukraine has been under assault from the Russian military over the last two weeks.