Hope amid the tears, bullets and bombs as rescuers give Ukraine’s war orphans their freedom... and a new life in Scotland
THEIR harrowing plight as they fled their orphanages to escape Russia’s invading forces captured the hearts of a nation and sparked an international effort to secure their safety. With no family of their own and only their carers to protect them, 47 orphans boarded one of the last trains leaving the heavily bombed south-eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk, travelling 600 miles across the country before being rescued by a Scots charity.
And tomorrow, in a war that has seen very few happy endings so far, the group of traumatised and exhausted orphans – collectively known as the Dnipro Kids – will fly from Poland to London, en route to Scotland, where they will see out the rest of the conflict far away from the explosions and piercing air raid sirens that have peppered their young lives over the past three weeks.
It is a moment that one man in particular, Steven Carr, chairman of the charity Dnipro Kids Appeal, cannot wait to see, having helped to make the evacuation possible by highlighting the desperate bid by the orphans, aged six to 17, to reach safety and by keeping the pressure on politicians at home to waive visa restrictions.
Having risked his own life to go into western Ukraine twice with other rescuers two weeks ago to meet them off the train at Lviv and ensure their safe passage to the Polish town of Znin, he is now back in Perthshire, preparing for their arrival in the UK.
Last night, he said: ‘It’s been a massive effort by so many people and there were times we weren’t sure we could pull it off. But we’ve done what we can to keep them safe and we have good people ready to help in Scotland.
‘The children are resilient and look to be holding up but a lot of them are too young to really comprehend what is happening. The adults in the group feel physically and mentally drained but won’t stop until this is done.
‘But they are coming to Scotland and this is a safe haven for them until it is safe to return home. We are going to try to make their time here as happy as possible.’
For those overseeing their resettlement, the hope is that once they have enjoyed the peace and quiet of the Trossachs for some weeks, the youngsters can then transfer to live with families in the Edinburgh area – and, in so doing, complete a remarkable association with one of the city’s football clubs, Hibernian, that began 17 years ago.
At the time, Hibs were attempting to progress beyond the first round of the Uefa Cup and had secured a 0-0 draw at Easter Road against FC Dnipro.
Two weeks later, the Ukrainian city hosted the second leg but the fans who travelled there, including Mr Carr, were left disappointed by a 5-1 defeat.
All was not in vain, however, as before the September 2005 trip he and fellow supporters decided to help a local orphanage while they were there.
He said: ‘This was at a time when they were still institutional orphanages with around 80 to 100 kids in one building.
‘It was supposed to be a one-off but when we got back we had a lot of foreign currency that we couldn’t exchange. So we pooled it all and flew back out at Christmas to spend it on presents and a party for the kids.
‘We thought that would be the end to it but supporters were really taken with it and wanted to continue helping. They were asking if they could make donations and sponsor the kids.
‘That is when we became an official charity and it’s just grown from there.’
The charity has become devoted to the upbringing of the orphans, organising birthday parties and excursions, as well as providing warm clothing, shoes and medical equipment and treatment. Its fundraising has also helped in the running of a pregnancy crisis centre. However, with advancing Russian troops and missile strikes threatening the orphans – who now live in a series of smaller ‘homelier’ buildings – Mr Carr decided the charity could not just stand by as its efforts went up in smoke. In a move that still surprises him, given he has never experienced a hostile environment before – except, he jokes, maybe football matches in the 1980s – he took time off from his alarm engineering business in Perth and headed for Poland.
‘I didn’t really tell anyone I was going to do it, except a few close friends,’ he added. ‘I didn’t want to worry anyone as it’s not normally something I would consider doing – driving towards a war zone – but I didn’t give it a second thought. I knew I had to help.’
With a local organisation providing the transport once he arrived in Katowice, in southern Poland, he found himself on two mercy missions, plucking 29 orphans and five carers to safety on the first night, and going back into Ukraine a second time to get the final 18 children and two adults.
Mr Carr said: ‘It was extremely emotional. Everyone was in tears and giving each other hugs. The last time we were able to see the children was 2019 because of the Covid pandemic and it was amazing to see how much they’d grown.
‘They’ve been through very traumatic experiences in their short lives and
now they have been uprooted from all they know as their country is attacked. But they are remarkably resilient and they are in good spirits.’ Unfortunately, for him it is a source of deep regret that not every orphan could be rescued from the orphanages the charity supports.
Mr Carr, who plans to return for those left behind as soon as it is safe to do so, added: ‘All the time, the clock was ticking. We knew we had a small window of opportunity to get the children out as the Russians were shelling their city and the situation was getting steadily worse.
That window has now closed and although there are more children in danger in Ukraine, it is not an option to return.
‘I would go back, but this group are the ones we have been able to evacuate for now and this is what we must concentrate on.’ Since the rescue, the group have been staying on the top floor of a hotel in Znin, after receiving assistance from Fundacja Leny Grochowskiej, a Polish organisation providing free accommodation and food for hundreds of refugees.
On Friday, officials from the British Embassy in Warsaw travelled to Znin to process the orphans’ visas ahead of their flight to the UK tomorrow.
For nearly all those on board, it will be the first time they have left their homeland.
Yesterday, Scottish Secretary of State Alister Jack said: ‘I’m very grateful to the Hibs fans’ Dnipro Kids charity and all others involved in getting the children out of Ukraine safely.
‘Scotland has a proud history of supporting refugees and I’m sure these young people will be made incredibly welcome when they get here.’
More than three million people, mostly women, children and the elderly, have fled Ukraine since Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion three weeks ago.
Up to 3,000 people fleeing the conflict will be offered immediate temporary accommodation in Scotland and could begin arriving within days.
Meanwhile, more than 8,000 people in Scotland have expressed an interest in hosting Ukrainian refugees through the UK Government’s Home for Ukraine scheme. The total number of applications across the UK is currently 147,513.
On Friday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: ‘We fully intend to harness the thousands of individual offers from people in Scotland willing to provide Ukrainians with a home.’
Over the past few days, the Dnipro Kids Appeal has received more than £50,000 in donations from Hibs supporters, together with a further £2,500 from their rivals, Heart of Midlothian.
Yesterday, the charity received another financial boost with donations made during the Scottish Premiership tie between Hibs and Aberdeen. The Dons have also established strong links with the appeal fund over the years, ever since playing a fixture in Dnipro in 2007 and being moved by the plight of the orphans.
Mr Carr said: ‘There is a lot of love between the kids in Ukraine and everyone involved with Dnipro Kids. At the end of the day, we are just a small charity and the support we’ve received has been phenomenal.’
Planning has already begun to try to acclimatise the orphans to the very different world they will find themselves in more than 2,270 miles from home.
And before beginning the final leg of their journey to Scotland on Wednesday, they will spend a couple of days in London, gazing wide-eyed at the wonder of the tourist attractions and safe from the danger back home.
It was emotional. They’ve had traumatic experiences