Woman reunited with family in Ukraine as Stormont challenged to help refugees

A young Ukrainian woman from Co Antrim has made it back to her hometown in the war-torn country with supplies from Northern Ireland.

Irina Fuga, who has lived here for five years, is bringing much-needed aid to those fleeing her native land.

Last week she spoke to UTV after setting up a collection point in Lisburn - she then set off with her partner Kieran and friend Michael to deliver the provisions.

Irina allowed us to track her journey through France, Romania and towards the Ukrainian border.

"Just to see their faces, it keeps us going," she said. "We've seen so many people leaving Ukraine. That's my people - they're Ukrainian, I'm Ukrainian, it's really heartbreaking."

As the first convoys of aid from here reach Ukraine, the communities minister said her department "stands ready" to provide sanctuary to refugees fleeing Ukraine.

Dierdre Hargey says in the absence of a functioning Executive, she had written to the head of the Civil Service about establishing a scheme to accept refugees in Northern Ireland.

"I know there are obviously difficulties at the moment because we don't have a functioning Executive where normally these issues would be highlighted around that table," the Sinn Féin minister told the Assembly on Monday.

"Despite that and the barriers that may create, I have written to the head of the Civil Service to ensure that my department stands ready to get a refugee scheme to make sure that we are up and running to assist in any way that we can in terms of the humanitarian crisis that are faced by many Ukrainians.

"I hope that we can roll out a similar scheme to what we have done with the Syrian refugees."

Stormont's infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon has written to ministers to request an urgent meeting about the issue.

Meanwhile for Irina, after making it home to the arms of her family for a precious reunion, she is now preparing to come back to Northern Ireland as they choose to stay.

"You never know what's going to be tomorrow," she says. "If I'm going to see them again, it's heartbreaking.

"We hope that next time when we're back, war has stopped."