A hero woman who drove her mum and grandmother 30 hours from Kyiv as missiles flew overhead is stuck in limbo as she waits to hear if she will be given a UK visa.
Anna Tkachnko was advised to “drive in a zig zag” through shelling in the capital as she began the 450 mile-mission to Poland in her dusty Honda.
The trio are amongst a number of refugees who today told the Mirror they now face a minimum wait of 72 hours for their UK visa application to be processed and a decision made.
If their applications are approved, they will have to travel another 200 miles to Warsaw to get their passports stamped.
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Speaking outside a temporary visa centre in Rzeszów, Poland, Anna’s aunt Elena Linyard said: “Anna is a complete hero, but after surviving all that they did we still have no idea if it will be a yes or no on the visa.
“It is a shame the UK isn’t making it easier for people to get through this part.”
From Tuesday, Ukrainians with passports will be able to get visas fully online in an attempt to streamline the process, Priti Patel announced yesterday.
It comes after a drive from hell from Anna, 30, after she left Kyiv on March 6 and fled to western Ukraine and across the border with Iryna Tkachnko, 57, and Galina Kryvulska, 81.
With Elena interpreting, property manager Anna explained: “I was the last person left in my neighbourhood, I only left Kyiv because the building next to me was destroyed.
“It took us four hours to get out of the city. As we passed the city of Vinnytsia the airport was targeted by eight missiles - we saw the fire and were so lucky to escape it.
“I only slept one hour in the whole journey, on the side of the road at a petrol station. I was so scared, but I gave my mother and grandmother herbal pills to help them stay calm.”
Anna’s dad is trapped in Kherson, south Ukraine, which was captured by Russia last week.
Merchandiser Elena has travelled from London to help her mum, sister and niece secure visas - and will now have to extend her flights until she knows the fate of their application.
The 48-year-old said: “It is frustrating, the main frustration for me is not knowing the outcome of our application, it is worse waiting.”
Natalia Steblina, 42, and daughters Iryna, 18, Daria, 10, are hoping their application will be accepted after fleeing from Mykolaiv, south Ukraine - where over 100 civilians were killed in a Russian attack on Wednesday.
A British family friend who has travelled to help them said: “It’s people’s right to get away from war and the UK has over complicated that.
A Government spokesperson said it is "standing shoulder to shoulder" with Ukrainians, adding: “We have expanded our Visa Application Capacity to 13,000 a week, deployed additional staff across the EU, with a 24/7 helpline in place to ensure those who need appointments can get them to come here. This allows us to balance security risks while welcoming those in need.
“A new sponsorship route, which will allow Ukrainians with no family ties to the UK to be sponsored to come here, is also being brought forward and all the measures we’ve put in place follow extensive engagement with Ukrainian partners. We will keep our support under constant review.”
