A woman living in Glenrothes with her family is desperately awaiting news after her parents fled their home in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.
Iryna Hanratty, who lives in Fife with her fiancé Brian Mackie and son Sasha, has been working to get permission for her parents to join her in Glenrothes after they fled their home in Sumy, Ukraine.
The elderly couple spent days in a make-shift bomb shelter after the Russian invasion of Ukraine before finally fleeing five days ago as part of a Red Cross convoy.
They have now travelled across the war-torn country, driving for over 400 miles to the city of Chernivsti on the border of Romania.
There they await a decision from the UK Government on their application to seek refuge in the UK.
It has been an agonising time for Iryna and Brian, who have been desperately trying to work out the visa application process and how to safely get Iryna’s parents, Yurri and Tamara, to safety, since the invasion began.
Iryna says her parents, both in their 70s, didn’t believe Russia would invade at first, telling her that everything would be okay.
“I’ve been speaking to my parents every morning, telling them they need to leave,” Iryna said.
“They just kept saying ‘[Russian President Vladimir Putin] is not going to start a war’.
“We actually felt cheery, thinking there would be no war, but then I woke up to a text saying they were being bombed.”
One of the reasons Putin has cited for his invasion of Ukraine was what he described as a “genocide” against Russian speakers in Ukraine.
But Iryna, who speaks fluent English as well as both Russian and Ukrainian, says her parents have never experienced this living in Sumy, a region which borders Russia.
“My parents speak Russian and Ukrainian, we communicate every day in Russian,” she said.
“Never have my parents felt threatened for speaking either language, it’s your choice.
“Whatever they are trying to say about people suppressed and forbidden to speak their language is not true.
“There are people who speak only Russian, but there are people saying they are not welcome but they are Ukrainians too.”
Brian and Iryna, who are engaged, feel luckier than many as they are able to navigate the visa system from Scotland.
Iryna said she worries that for those who cannot speak English or do not have computer skills.
“If you don’t have help, or don’t speak the language, you wouldn’t be able to apply for the visa,” she said.
Visa process adds to Glenrothes family’s distress
“You need someone in the UK to take a lead on it and apply. Only a few will manage will apply.”
Iryna, who moved to the UK in 2007, welcomed the news that over 50,000 people have now signed up to offer space for a Ukrainian refugee.
“I am so proud to live in this country,” she said.
The UK Government has moved applications for those who have family in the UK online, something Brian says has made the process of helping his in-laws come to the UK simpler.
“It was easier the second time with the new process. It’s moving in the right direction and getting better,” he told The Courier.
But he added that at times the government’s response has left him feeling “ashamed”.
“It’s only in the last few days the mood has changed in the house, because we feel like we’re getting somewhere.
“I’ve been phoning the home office and the foreign office, but every person I spoke to didn’t seem willing to help us.
I’ve actually felt quite ashamed being British.”
“I’ve actually felt quite ashamed being British over how these people are being treated as they try to come here.
“I always thought [the government] had the world’s best interests at heart, even if I’ve not always been a fan of the current government.
“You see how Poland has let in 2 million refugees, and Ireland has allowed visa-free travel, and then Boris Johnson goes on TV to say we’ve processed 50 visas.
“Well 50 people alone were killed near to Iryna’s parents overnight.
“It should just be a case of getting them over and sorting the paperwork out later.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended the government’s approach, saying it is “open and generous”.
But refusing to abandon controls altogether for those fleeing Ukraine, he said it is “sensible” for the UK to “have some basic ability to check who is coming in and who isn’t”.
For Iryna and her family, the decision on whether her parents will make it to the UK can’t come soon enough.
“We just have to wait now,” Brian added.
