Ukraine: Sussex student fears for 'frail and elderly' grandmother stuck in Kyiv
A student from the University of Sussex says she is contacting anyone she can in order to get her elderly grandmother out of Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Anna Maria Szalay, 23, told ITV News Meridian that she wakes up every morning fearing that her entire family in Ukraine 'could be dead', and fears for the life of her grandmother Svetlana.
Her 74-year-old grandmother was granted a two-year visitor visa on Wednesday (23 February) and was due to come and pick it up on Thursday at 5am. However she called Anna's mother to say that she could 'hear the bombs and the war was starting', and was unable to leave.
Anna said: "She barely survived the night [of the air strike on Friday] and she is incredibly frail and elderly.
Watch: Anna Maria Szalay fears for her grandmother's life
"She moved into another relative's flat and she is just trying to stay alive. We don't know how to get her out.
"We can meet her at any border but we don't know if it is safer for her to stay, or to try and get her out."
Anna has tried to contact multiple charities to see if anyone can help get her grandmother out of Ukraine.
She added: "I'm just trying to contact anyone and everyone who could possibly evacuate my elderly grandma. But there just seems to be no way to get her to a border."
"There are so many people around England who have families who have a right to be in the UK, but they just can't get them out of the city."
"Every morning I wake up and think 'my whole family could be dead' because my entire family is in Ukraine."
"I think the attitude there is just a lot of fear, and a lot of hope, because that is all you have."
On Saturday afternoon (26 February), the British MoD said “the speed of the Russian advance has temporarily slowed, likely as a result of acute logistical difficulties and strong Ukrainian resistance".
President Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian army still retains control of Kyiv and the main cities around the capital, where officials believe Russia is attempting to overthrow the government.