LET ME SEE MY DADDY
Ukrainian boy’s heartbreaking plea to Sunak
An 11-year- old Ukrainian boy has written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak begging to be reunited with his dad in the UK.
Dmytro Krasnozhonyi spends days seeking cover in a bomb shelter after Russia invaded his country a year ago.
The youngster’s dad came to England in 2020 to work as a builder.
He wanted to return to Ukraine to be with his family and fight Russia but a medical condition stopped him.
Meanwhile, Dmytro and his mum Oksana Krasnozhona have been waiting for the go-ahead from the UK to head for Britain.
They signed up to the Homes for Ukraine scheme when it launched and found a sponsor almost straight away.
But their passage to London has been blocked by Home Office delays.
Now, Dmytro has written to the PM pleading with him to understand what he – and thousands of other families trapped in Ukraine – are going through. “Dear Prime Minister,” he writes, “I am Dmytro, I am 11 and I am already a child of war.
“I loved playing football with my friends but then the war came to my country and I no longer have the life I had.
“We used to play and laugh a lot with my mom but now my mom is sad and distant. I love my dad but I have not seen him for the last 18 months because he is in London.
“I know we will move to England one day and I will be safe there. But I also know we are waiting for permission to travel to the UK. For me, this permission means to stay alive. “I want to play again, I want to see my mum’s smile and hug my dad. I ask you on behalf of my fami ly and al l Ukrainians who are also wait ing for a permission to come to the UK to take prompt steps towards our cases, so that hundreds of children l ike me wi l l be saved.”
Dmytro and his mum live in the Zolotyi Potik. The nearest big city is Ivano-Frankivsk – the first target of the Russian invasion.
Oksana sa id: “Since the invasion started we have witnessed death and destruction. Please let us come – stop the delay. There are many of us struggling to survive while this war goes on every day.”
The family’s sponsor lives in London. Local MP Rosena Allin-Khan has is calling on Sunak to help. After she rasied their case with the Home Office, it replied saying: “This application is still under consideration.”
Dr Allin-Khan said: “This is a heartbreaking story, Oksana and Dmytro need to be brought to safety. There is a home in Tooting, ready to house them – our community will welcome them with open arms.”
The sponsor, Svitlana, said: “I wish Oksana and Dmytro come to my home as soon as possible and I am eagerly waiting for them.”
Government f igures show the total arrivals in the UK is 163,500 – 47,800 under the family members scheme and 115,800 via the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme.
A Home Office spokesman said: “We are processing visas as quickly as they come in – enabling thousands more Ukrainians to come through our uncapped routes.”