Daughter rings mother in Ukraine every hour after invasion of Russian troops
A woman from Hampshire, whose 65-year-old mother lives in Ukraine, says she's terrified about what might happen to her.
Hanna Greentree, who has lived in the UK since 2017, has told ITV News Meridian that she has been calling her mother every hour to check she is OK since Russia invaded Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Hanna's mother works as a doctor in Ukraine and lives in Kharkiv which is a 30 minute drive from the Russian border.
She said: "I think I am more scared because I am here, I'm safe and my mum is struggling there and she's heard the explosions. It's just difficult. What can I do? How can I bring her here? There are no planes."
Hanna Greentree says she feels 'helpless'
Hanna had been trying to obtain a residential visa for her mother but current rules say that she cannot come to the UK unless she would have a room to herself.
She said: "My mum has been instructed to stay at home and not go anywhere.
"We discussed her travelling to somewhere to escape Ukraine but there are no trains or airports operating. As far as I know some of the airports have been destroyed.
"I just want to bring her here. I know that immigration is quite a long process and quite expensive.
"We've invested all of our money, everything because we have been pushed into a position to get a house."
What's happening in Ukraine?
At about 3am UK time on Thursday (February 24), President Vladimir Putin declared a military operation on Ukraine - justifying the invasion in a televised address, asserting the attack was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine - a false claim the US had predicted the Russian president would make as a pretext for invasion.
He also claimed that Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine but will move to “demilitarise” it and bring those who committed crimes to justice.
Putin urged Ukrainian servicemen to “immediately put down arms and go home”.
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Just minutes after the announcement, explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, and Kharkiv, Dnipro and Odessa. President Zelensky cut diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law, while urging Ukrainians to remain calm and stay home.
Ukraine’s leadership said at least 40 people had been killed so far in what it called a “full-scale war” targeting the country from the east, north and south.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation at lunchtime on Thursday and said our "worst fears have now come true and all our warnings have proved tragically accurate" after Putin "unleashed war in our European continent".
He said the world could not allow the freedom of Ukraine to be “snuffed out” and “we cannot and will not just look away”.
Mr Johnson said “diplomatically, politically, economically and – eventually – militarily, this hideous and barbaric venture of Vladimir Putin must end in failure”.
He added the UK and its allies would respond to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine with a “massive” package of sanctions “designed in time to hobble the Russian economy”.
His address came after an emergency Cobra meeting to address the crisis and will be followed by a statement in Parliament at around 5pm.
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