A brave British woman has returned to war-torn Ukraine to rescue her 90-year-old mother – and asked Boris Johnson to help bring her back.
Mother-of-one Lesia Polataiko, 58, moved to Britain in 1996 and now has UK citizenship but her mother Halyna still lives in the western city of Lviv.
She is desperate to get her to safety but strict visa regulations mean she is not allowed to travel as only UK dependents are being granted vital paperwork to get into the country.
MailOnline found Lesia waiting on the platform at Przemysl station, clutching her British passport waiting patiently with dozens of others for a train across the border into Ukraine.
Tatiana Maydanyuk, 47, (left) from Woking, Surrey, was heading to Lviv to see her doctor son Paulo, 24, and mother-of-one Lesia Polataiko, 58, (right) had returned to war-torn Ukraine to rescue her 90-year-old mother
MailOnline found Lesia waiting on the platform at Przemysl station, clutching her British passport waiting patiently with dozens of others for a train across the border into Ukraine. Pictured: Refugees fleeing conflict in neighboring Ukraine arrive to in Przemysl, Poland, on February 27
Brave British woman Lesia Polataiko, 58, has returned to war-torn Ukraine to rescue her 90-year-old mother – and asked Boris Johnson (pictured yesterday) to help bring her back
She had jetted in earlier on an easyJet flight from Gatwick to Krakow after waving goodbye to her husband after leaving her home in Sevenoaks, Kent.
On the flight she had met former McLaren F1 hospitality rep Tatiana Maydanyuk, 47, from Woking, Surrey, who was also heading to Lviv to see her doctor son Paulo, 24.
Lesia, who works as an environmental officer for Kensington and Chelsea council, said: ‘I want to thank Britain for all their help.
‘They are standing behind us and supporting us but more help is needed. Today it is Ukraine but tomorrow it could be anywhere else in Europe.
‘My mother is 90-years-old and lives on her own in Lviv. She needs help and can’t be on her own but I can’t get her to Britain.
‘The Home Office said only partners and children can come to the UK and they won’t let her in but my mum can’t stay where she is on her own.
‘I understand the UK has immigration rules and I am happy to stick with the rules but at least consider granting temporary visas just for a few weeks to allow people in this situation to get elderly relatives to safety.
‘So far there has been no fighting in Lviv but she tells me the sirens are going off several times a day.
‘I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before the Russians start heading her way. That’s why I am saying ‘Boris, please help us.’
Ukrainians wait while being processed after making their way to the Polish border city of Przemysl
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets military personnel at RAF Brize Norton to thank them for their ongoing work facilitating military support to Ukraine and NATO on February 26
‘I have never broken any UK laws and I have paid my taxes, I have been a British citizen for more than 15 years and I just want some help to get my mother to safety.’
Her plea came as a row erupted between Labour and the Conservatives after the PM said ‘of course’ the UK will take Ukrainian refugees ‘fleeing in fear of their lives’.
Some opposition MPs have said the Government’s refusal to relax visa restrictions was ‘immoral’ given the fierce fighting going on in the Ukraine.
Lesia added: ‘I know the UK has sent guns and money and is leading calls for sanctions but we need more help.
‘We are doing well and I think that sick man Putin is starting to see Ukraine is not the easy pushover he was expecting.
‘The country is doing well, the Ukrainian army is fighting strong and I am so proud of those brave men in the country of birth but Britain is my home now and I want my mother with me safe.’
When asked if she was scared returning to Ukraine, Lesia said: ‘No, but ask me again in a few days when I get there.
‘I have been here on the platform all day and I don’t know when the train will leave but I know I will get to Lviv and see my mother.’
People leaving Ukraine and heading over the border into Poland to seek refuge from the Russian invasion
Ukrainian citizens arrive at a border control checkpoint between Poland and Ukraine at the railway station in Przemysl, eastern Poland
A child in a pink fluffy hoodie and an ochre blanket crosses the border between Ukraine and Poland at Przemysl on Sunday morning
Ukrainian refugees arrive at Przemysl train station waiting to go through polish border control
Fleeing Ukrainian women and children lined the corridors in buildings at the Przemysl border crossing point
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has welcomed refugees escaping the war in Ukraine. Pictured: Ukrainians in Przemysl, Poland
Officials say around 156,000 refugees have fled into Poland from the Ukraine with Saturday being the busiest day with more than 77,000 coming into the country through nine official crossing points
Tatiana, who lives in Woking, with her British husband and daughter, said: ‘I’m going back to see my son.
‘He’s a doctor in Lviv and is working in the hospital. So far he hasn’t been conscripted and hasn’t seen any fighting but who knows what will happen.
‘When I told my husband I was going back to the Ukraine, he didn’t try and stop me.
‘We Ukrainian mothers are very determined. My son said not to come but I am going there to make sure he is OK.
‘We are an independent country and I think the way the army have fought back and the president has led us is fantastic, it makes me cry to see and hear how our army which is nothing compared to Russia is fighting so bravely.
Countries neighbouring Ukraine have been quick to offer support to refugees fleeing the war
Hygiene products are gathered in Przemysl, southeastern Poland ahead of being sent to Ukraine
In Przemysl a local school has also had it’s gym converted into a reception centre with dozens of camp beds set up on the floor and piles of clothes, sanitary products and food being donated. The mantra read ‘Knowledge to overcome darkness’
A steady stream of refugees is pouring out of Ukraine following the outbreak of war on Thursday
Ukrainian passengers are mainly women and children after martial law was imposed in Ukraine forbidding men aged between 18 and 60 from leaving
‘Putin is a mad man who just wants to rebuild the Soviet Union but he can forget about having Ukraine. We will fight on and win because we have the rest of the world behind us.’
The women were among more than 200 who were waiting at Przemysl for a train back to Ukraine which had arrived earlier from Lviv after an astonishing 18 hour delay.
Arriving passengers – mainly women and children after martial law was imposed in Ukraine forbidding men aged between 18 and 60 from leaving – were greeted with cups of hot tea or coffee and food.
Smoke and flames are seen billowing over Kyiv’s Peremohy Avenue in the west of the city, near the zoo, in the early hours of Saturday morning
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remains alive – and is fast becoming an international hero – as Vladimir Putin’s efforts to topple the Kyiv government and install his own puppet cabinet runs into trouble
Ukrainian servicemen take cover in a shelter at fighting positions at the military airbase Vasylkiv in the Kyiv region yesterday
A Ukrainian soldier walks past debris of a burning military truck, on a street in Kyiv, Ukraine on Saturday morning
Ukrainian soldiers take positions outside a military facility as two cars burn, in a street in Kyiv, February 26
Locals carrying signs offering free rides to Polish cities such as Warsaw, Krakow and Katowice gathered outside the exit to passport control and their were also emotional scenes as loved one were able to embrace family and friends.
Officials say around 156,000 refugees have fled into Poland from the Ukraine with Saturday being the busiest day with more than 77,000 coming into the country through nine official crossing points.
In Przemysl a local school has also had it’s gym converted into a reception centre with dozens of camp beds set up on the floor and piles of clothes, sanitary products and food being donated.
