Armagh mum left fearing for family’s safety in native Ukraine

A Ukrainian woman who lives in Richhill in Co Armagh has been left fearing for the safety of her daughter and grandsons back in a Ukraine now under invasion from Russia.

Oksana Wilson has been keeping in contact with her family throughout the day via video calls.

Her daughter Marina and her two sons live just outside the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. In the early hours, they were woken by explosions as Vladimir Putin’s army entered in force.

Missing loved ones thousands of miles away across Europe is undoubtedly painful, but that only intensifies under the threat of war.

“They were woken up to explosions already, so they were basically prepared,” Oksana told UTV.

“They were prepared for something like this happening, so to go to their grandfather’s in the country.”

Another Ukrainian national who has lived and worked in the UK and Ireland says he feels he has no choice but join the country's army in its fight against Russia.

"We don't know what's going to happen so I think all hands on deck is warranted," Eugene Yunak, who lives in Lviv, told UTV.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has cut diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law, while urging Ukrainians to remain calm and stay home.

However, there have already been reports of dozens killed.

In a televised address, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK was prepared to resort to military measures and has since imposed what he says is “the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions” that Russia has “ever seen”.

President Putin has warned that any interference will lead to “consequences you have never seen”.

But announcing the list of sanctions, Mr Johnson told the Commons: “Now we see him for what he is – a bloodstained aggressor, who believes in imperial conquest.”

Meanwhile, Newtownards man Donald Fleming has just returned home from Ukraine four weeks ago with his wife Jacqueline.

They helped build refuges for the elderly and disabled outside Kharkiv.

“The Russian army had already surrounded a lot of Ukraine - they were sitting on the other side of the border,” Donald told UTV.

“Yes, it was quite tense in many places that we had to go to, but it didn’t hinder us in any way. It didn’t stop the work from continuing. We set about helping the sick and the elderly in the different areas that we were in. But you could feel the atmosphere in the air.”

One of those buildings the couple helped build is now being used to house refugees as Ukraine prepares to grapple with a humanitarian crisis.