Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Host’s frustration as duo finally head for city safety
A UKRAINIAN mum and her son are on their way to safety in Dundee after facing homelessness due to a six-week visa delay.
Ruslana Perekhodko, 34, and 11-yearold son Taras have been on an “emotional rollercoaster” after they held off leaving war-torn Ukraine for weeks while they waited for their travel paperwork.
Nicola Barton, 47, arranged to host the refugees in her Dundee home as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme to help people fleeing the Russian invasion.
Their visas were granted more than two weeks ago – but incorrect paperwork was issued for Taras, meaning they could not travel to the UK.
The pair only had until Saturday to vacate their temporary accommodation in Wroclaw, Poland.
Nicola said: “The situation was desperate.
“The son was really struggling. If he was here, he could be at school and it’s so frustrating.
“I just feel like, as a host I have let them down, and the system has failed them and I can do nothing.
“They’re really relying on us.
“It’s a safeguarding issue as well, if they became homeless because of this.”
Taras did not have a passport when the conflict broke out in Ukraine.
They were advised by the Ukrainian government that his passport would come by April 15, but it did not arrive.
Nicola says the family regularly heard air sirens from their home in Rivne, Ukraine, as missiles flew overhead.
The two fled to the nearest embassy in Poland and attended an appointment for Taras’ biometric paper passport on April 19 in Warsaw.
They later collected their Permission to Travel letters – which are only issued if you have a full EU passport – but as Taras does not yet have a passport, the letter was not valid.
The family were staying in Wroclaw, a four-hour journey away from Warsaw where the travel paperwork is issued.
Nicola says two hours after the Home Office was contacted by The Tele, they confirmed Taras’ passport will be printed.
Yesterday – just two days before they were due to be removed from their accommodation – an airline allowed the pair to travel to the UK using just Ruslana’s passport.