A UKRAINIAN woman has expressed her relief after family members managed to escape their home city of Irpin, which is besieged by Russian forces, as the war on Ukraine intensifies.
Mariya Nikishanova, who lives in Ennis, has been trying to help her mother, Nataliia (70), sister, Olanna and niece get to safety from their home in Irpin.
Barring an unexpected setback, they are due to fly from Warsaw to Shannon this Thursday before they will be transported to Mariya’s home in Ennis.
In an interview with the Clare Champion, she said her family had to flee Irpin because it is no longer safe to stay here following the arrival of Russian tanks on the streets of her city.
For Russian forces, the city on the North West edge of Kyiv is seen as vital to capture for a possible push deeper into the capital city in their bid to capture the seat of the Ukrainian government.
In an attempt to block a possible Russian advance, Ukrainian forces blew up the bridge over the Irpin River to block a key gateway to Kyiv.
Mariya recalled her sister and niece left Irpin in a car on Friday and arrived in Warsaw on Saturday afternoon.
On Saturday, her mother travelled separately by train from Irpin to Kyiv onto Lviv where she got a bus to the Polish border.
In the midst of thousands of other fleeing refugees, she had to wait for about three hours for passport control checks before she got a lift by car from a Polish volunteer who drove her and three others to Warsaw where she was reunited with her daughter.
“We have had a good development because my mother, sister and niece have managed to reach Warsaw.
“Polish people are helping Ukrainians by taking them by car from the Polish border to Warsaw free of charge.
“I am relieved that my mother, sister and niece are now safe in Warsaw. It is much better for them now. They will be arriving to my house on Thursday after flying from Warsaw to Shannon Airport. I am looking forward to seeing them on Thursday.”
“It is very hard to watch what is happening in the war. Irpin is now one of the worst places to be. There are Russian tanks on my streets.
“My mother’s husband also left the house in Irpin to go to Kyiv by foot because it is not possible to stay there any longer.”
Mariya’s family members are among the tens of thousands of people expected to arrive in Ireland over the coming weeks.
Poland’s Prime Minister has estimated 1.2 million people have arrived at its border since Russia’s invasion began, with border guards processing over 140,000 new entrants earlier this week.
Six years ago, Mariya came to live in Clare following in the footsteps of her husband, Sergii when he got a job as a software engineer with Intel in Shannon.
The couple, who are living in Ennis, have two children aged five and eight. Mariya was born in Irpin, which is located about 20 kilometres from Kyiv, where she resided for a few years.
On February 21, she was planning to travel to Ukraine to celebrate her mother’s 70th birthday on Monday but couldn’t go due to the outbreak of war.
By Dan Danaher