Ukrainian Woolton Hill resident's fear for family as parents still in Ukraine cannot flee

A Ukrainian Woolton Hill resident with family in the country has spoken of feeling “powerless” and “helpless” in the wake of the Russian invasion.

Tanya Tame, who lives with her husband Alex, said her parents Alexander and Kateryna, who had reluctantly been forced to flee, are now hiding in their cellar as sirens blare overhead in their city in central Ukraine.

As of 4pm today (Friday), the Ukrainian army is battling Russian ground forces on the outskirts of Kyiv as President Putin targets the country’s political leadership.

Elsewhere, Russian forces invaded from the port of Odessa in the south, while tanks poured in from the northern border with Belarus, claiming Chernobyl as under Russian control.

Thousands are now trying to flee the country, including many males of working age, despite President Zelensky’s order that all Ukrainian men aged from 18 to 60 should stay and fight.

Mrs Tame said her parents, who are in their late sixties, and her sister, brother-in-law, and their young son, had planned to leave the city – a strategic location in central Ukraine – at around 11am this morning.

However, their 20-hour drive to the nearest safe border was interrupted by sudden sirens and what is feared to be a potential "imminent air attack".

Mrs Tame said that her parents have now been forced to take shelter in a cellar in the garden of their home with little resources and no idea when it may be safe to leave.

She said: "The sirens keep going. They're in a cellar in the garden cellar, that's all that I know. It's quite cold, it's where they keep the vegetables for winter- they just went there from their home. It's a very small, tiny, tiny room."

The concerned daughter doesn't know how long her family will remain in the cellar and hopes that they have enough resources and don't lose their internet connection- as it is the only thing keeping them connected.

She added: "It's all happening quickly and drastically. I think they did try to prepare something but there it's dangerous as the country has run out of fuel, medication and food.

"I don't know how long they're going to last in that state, they have lots of vegetables from the cellar but that's all they have.

"I was talking to them last week and asked have you got the worst case scenario, but they just didn't think they would need this scenario. I don't know what their plan is."

She went on: “I haven’t slept for a week. I wake up every night, every hour and check the news."

Over the last two weeks, there has been a disparity between western and Ukrainian media in the reporting of the potential invasion, with Ukrainian media and President Zelensky playing down the likelihood of a war with Russia.

Mrs Tame, who moved to the UK with Mr Tame in 2003, said her parents hadn’t had a plan to flee “because they didn’t think anything would happen”.

She continued: “They never wanted to leave or be refugees anywhere – it’s so difficult for them to even consider something like that.

“My common sense didn’t want to believe it could happen.

“My father said he’d lived here all his life – it’s his home, he can’t leave.

“I said to him, the choice is to live there with a high risk of dying, or leave and live a bit longer. That’s your choice.”

Charities such as Save the Children and Amnesty International have urged the UK Government to welcome refugees from Ukraine, after the United Nations warned that millions of people could be displaced by Russia’s invasion.

Mrs Tame called on the UK and other safe countries to offer asylum if it was needed.

She added: “I’m very careful about saying that because people are so angry about foreigners coming.

“The thing is, what choice do you have if your home is blown up, and your life is in danger?”

Mr and Mrs Tame first met while working with charity Hope Now – a Southampton-based charity which supports Ukrainians with health care, summer camps and education.

Anyone who would like to help with the current crisis can visit www.hopenow.org.uk.

Alternatively, call +44 (0)23 8078 0720.