Boy who fled Ukraine alone with just a phone number on his hand reunites with mother in Slovakia

Watch as Hassan is finally reunited with his mother after his solo trip from Ukraine to Slovakia

An 11-year-old boy who travelled 700 miles on his own to escape war-torn Ukraine has been reunited with his mother in Slovakia.

Hassan Pisecká, 11, fled the country earlier this month with only a plastic bag and a phone number written on his hand, to join his siblings in the safety of Bratislava.

Hassan's mother Julia had made the tough decision to remain in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhi with her elderly mother, whose disabilities meant she was unable to leave.

The boy journeyed by crowded trains and on foot to the border, where his "smile, fearlessness and determination" won over officials, who helped him cross into Slovakia.

This week his mother, grandmother and their dog were finally able to leave Zaporizhzhi, where Russian shelling caused a fire at a nuclear power plant earlier this month, and join their family in the Slovakian capital.

Their emotional reunion was captured on camera by the Slovak Republic Police Force.

Speaking to Good Morning Britain after their reunion, his sister said of Hassan: "He says the most important thing is to be where he has family.

"He likes this city because it's safe," she sent on. "He doesn't know about the future because he doesn't know about the situation in Ukraine. He doesn't think about the future, he just wants to be with us."

Julia Pisecká said the train ride out of Ukraine with her elderly mother "was very difficult" as hundreds of people crammed into single cars.

She said the family will have to start "from scratch" but "we had to escape so our family could be back together.

"We lost everything we've had but we're healthy," she said.