A Ukrainian family fleeing the war have been robbed of the little money and few possessions they owned at a Spanish petrol station, prompting the police to raise EUR 500 to help them in their quest to start a new life.

The robbery took place at a petrol station on the AP-7 motorway near the town of Figueres, in the province of Girona, in the north-eastern Spanish region of Catalonia, in the early hours of Saturday morning, 19th March.

The Ukrainian family, fleeing Russia’s invasion of their home country, stopped at the petrol station to refuel and take a break.

While catching some sleep in their vehicle at the service station, the thieves arrived and started hitting their vehicle’s wheels, according to local reports.

The scared family members woke up and went to investigate, when they were confronted by the suspects and robbed of their belongings.

The thieves reportedly made off with the family’s money, jewellery and other belongings they had managed to bring with them from their home in war-torn Ukraine.

The family reported the incident to the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police) and, while filing the complaint, officers managed to collect just over EUR 500 (GBP 418) to help the victims start a new life.

The SAP-FEPOL police union shared images of the kindhearted gesture on Twitter.

It is unclear if the Ukrainian family have a final destination in mind as they look to make a fresh start away from the devastating conflict in their home country.

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation” to “demilitarise and denazify” the sovereign European state.