Furious British father brands Government ‘heartless’ over refusal to get his wife a visa as they flee Ukraine for Poland with their two children
- Ken Stewart, his Ukrainian wife Tanya and two children battling to reach Poland
- He posted photos after ‘18 hours in [a] near-stationary queue 40 miles from Kyiv
- Mr Stewart said his wife would have to go through a ‘convoluted visa application’
- He said the Government was a ‘heartless bunch’ who showed ‘zero compassion’
An expat fleeing Ukraine with his two-week-old baby has slammed the British Government for its heartless refusal to fast-track a visa for his wife.
Ken Stewart, 54, from Edinburgh, his Ukrainian wife Tanya, 36, and their two young children were battling to reach the sanctuary of Poland yesterday before heading to Britain.
He posted photos on social media after ‘18 hours in [a] near-stationary queue’ on the dangerous journey from their village, 40 miles from Kyiv.
Mr Stewart said his wife would have to go through a ‘convoluted visa application’ to get into the UK despite both their children having UK citizenship.
He said the Government was a ‘heartless bunch’ who showed ‘zero compassion for my family or for any Ukrainian refugees’. ‘My heart is broken,’ he added.
Mr Stewart wrote: ‘My wife is Ukrainian and I’m a UK citizen- both children have UK citizenship. But the UK government absolutely refuses to make the process easier for my wife to get a visa.
‘When we finally get the visa and eventually get to UK I will be publicly shaming UK government.
‘They are heartless bunch and have shown zero compassion for my family or for any Ukrainian refugees.’
Ken Stewart (left) and his Ukrainian wife Tanya (right) pictured together. Mr Stewart has branded the Government a ‘heartless bunch’ over its refusal to grant his wife a visa
Commenting during an overnight break, he added: ‘Tonight my heart is broken and tears stream down my face as I write this. I have had to take my little family away from our home – I have lived in Ukraine for 15 years- and may never return to our house in what was once a peaceful village in a peaceful region of a country that wanted nothing but peace.
‘I have left behind hundreds of friends, friends who are now enduring hell on earth because of the madness of one country.
‘No not just Putin. Russia. Putin isn’t flying the planes and helicopters that murder children, or firing artillery on apartment blocks in my beloved Kyiv.’
He said his wife’s relatives have moved into their home outside Kyiv and are ‘awaiting an unknown fate.’
Praising Tanya’s resilience, he added on Facebook: ‘She hasn’t slept for 2 days. Could you if your country was burning?
‘She is an amazing mother to our kids and has held it together in ways you can’t imagine. Her entire Ukrainian family are in extreme danger as I write this.
‘We had to make the decision to get the kids to safety and so we drove across the country all day, parallel with, and very near to, the Belarus border- Belarus what have you done?- as it was the most direct route to Poland.
‘Tomorrow we will join the several miles long queue for the Polish border. Hopefully we’ll get across eventually.
‘Thanks to all who supported us. Ukraine will rise again! Ukraine’s future is in Europe, not in barbaric Russia.’
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