‘I want my family to get out of Ukraine and into safety’
EALING WOMAN FEARS FOR HER PARENTS STILL LIVING IN DNIPRO
A UKRAINIAN woman living in London is pleading for her parents to leave their home in Ukraine and fears for their safety.
Valeriya Kurova, 27, now lives in Ealing but was raised in Dnipro, Ukraine.
Her parents Volodymyr Kurov and Tetyana Kurova are still in the Ukrainian city and are reluctant to leave despite Russian forces moving closer to the city.
“I want my family out because I want them to be in a safe place, I’m worried about them. It’s so scary,” she said.
“The issue is my mother can leave but my father can’t because he’s of military age and my mother won’t leave without him. I’m here in England, just waiting.
“I can’t breathe thinking about it, it’s like I can’t get oxygen into my lungs. I’m just waiting for something to happen.”
Men aged between 18 and 60 are banned from leaving Ukraine after Russia invaded on February 24, meaning Valeriya’s dad is not allowed to flee the country.
She said: “It’s not like my dad can leave even if he wanted to – they have not asked him yet but they are asking people just a bit younger than him now, so it is only a matter of time.
“I have heard stories of men that have tried to leave and the military has just stopped them and taken the men away and brought them back to fight.”
Despite Valeriya’s mum’s determination to stay with her husband, the situation in Ukraine is worsening.
At the end of last week, 52 orphans from Dnipro arrived in Scotland where they will stay until it is safe for them to return home.
Valeriya said the situation is becoming more desperate, adding: “Yesterday my mum rang and for the first time since it started she said, ‘Please take me out of here, it’s really scary’. They can’t believe what is happening, they’re in complete shock. It’s very emotional for them, to see their whole lives destroyed.”
When Russia first invaded Ukraine, Volodymyr and Tetyana went into the basement of their building because they were scared of bombings, but temperatures were -14°C below ground level and they were unable to stay there.
They currently have foil over their windows to protect them from their windows shattering if they are bombed.
She said the supermarkets are empty with some people unable to get clean water, sirens are heard throughout the day and the streets are completely deserted.
Valeriya has been raising money for her parents to move west and escape Ukraine before it is too late, but is worried that her mum will not leave the country.
“I have given my mother options and said she has a place to stay here,
and other people have offered their homes. I’ve raised money and told her I can help her settle here while she waits for my dad, but she is reluctant to leave him.”
She said that despite her raising money for her parents she is not able to transfer it over as the Ukrainian banking system is not secure since the invasion.
“I worry because they have lost their business. My father’s company was in foreign exports and they can’t operate anymore so they are running out of money and they don’t have a pension.”
Although Valeriya moved to the UK in 2012, she still has fond memories of growing up in Ukraine.
She said: “I had a very happy
childhood but now I have no idea whether my school looks the same or whether I would recognise anything anymore – looking at the news most of the places I recognise are damaged a lot, especially when I hear about hospitals and schools. I just can’t imagine it. Life is completely different now. I just hope that I can see my parents again.”