Story By: Sergey Panashchuk, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

A five-year-old has survived after being thrown from a fifth-storey window by his drunk father who says he had been having a nightmare and did not recognise his own son sleeping next to him.

The shocking incident occurred in the eastern-western Ukrainian city of Chuhuiv in the Kharkiv Oblast region. 

Ukrainian police reported the incident happened at 2 am. The 40-year-old father, whose name was not disclosed by the police, had reportedly been drinking all evening before getting into bed. 

The father is said to have been having nightmares when he woke up in a cold sweat and did not recognise his own five-year-old son who was peacefully slipping beside him. 

The father allegedly grabbed the child and threw him out of the window of his fifth-floor flat.

The boy survived the 46-foot fall as he landed on a snowdrift near the block of flats. He was hospitalised at Kharkiv City Children’s’ Hospital. He is reportedly in intensive care in a stable condition. 

A police statement reads: “It is established he was drinking alcohol before. The family had not had any trouble with the law before.” 

The father reportedly admitted his guilt. He has been charged with attempted murder and could be jailed for between seven to 15 years if found guilty.

The first deputy of Ukrainian National Police Vyacheslav Abroskin said in a statement: “The father is crying now.”

According to Abroskin, the father told to the police: “I went to the bed together with my son. I had a nightmare and when I woke up I did not realise what I was doing and threw my son out of the window.”

The investigation is ongoing.