Umney had quit his job as an English teacher to be reunited with his wife and son in Ukraine. – Picture via Facebook/IanUmney
PETALING JAYA, March 3 – British father Ian Umney went viral after embarking on a two-day trip to be reunited with his wife and son in Ukraine – and was prepared to take arms if needed.
Umney, who hails from North West England’s Merseyside quit his job as an English teacher to travel to Nikopol, south-eastern Ukraine to be reunited with his family.
Independent reported that Umney, who has been hailed a hero, caught a train from Lviv to Nikopol, which are around 500 miles apart (800km) on Tuesday at around 2pm.
“I cannot sit here, while my wife and son are in Ukraine, and watch the freedom and safety of Ukraine be threatened by Putin.
“It took four days of stress, upset, hurt, and anger but now I have packed my bag, planned, and written my letters.
“I’m now on the way to reunite with my family by whatever means. Please continue to support Ukraine and those who are in need,” he wrote on Facebook.
He said his first priority was to bombproof their home and tape up their windows and his second option was to join the army and defend Kyiv ‘without any hesitation’.
Meanwhile Ukranians and expats abroad are braving the journey of returning home to fight against the Russian army.
abc News reported that a Ukrainian citizen, Denis, 28, who had spent six months working at a construction site in Poland said he was returning to Ukraine where his ‘everything’ is.
“I’m on my own here in Poland. Why should I be here?
“So I go, for the homeland.
“I want to go back to join the army, to fight. We will see, we hope we will win,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian expat, Janiel, in the nearby city of Przemysl, an engineer by profession, said he was also preparing to return to Ukraine from Poland.
“I talked to my parents and I cried.
“And I just decided to myself that I can’t watch that and I can’t just stay in Poland as Russians destroy our independence, destroy our cities, kill our citizens, kill our children, kill our elderly people,” he said.
Yesterday, Reuters reported that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has killed more than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians and destroyed hundreds of structures including transport facilities such as hospitals, kindergartens and homes.