A heroic dad who travelled to Ukraine to rescue his wife and two-year-old son as Russia invaded the country, now plans to move there permanently.
Ian Umney, 29, began his journey in Eastern Europe last year on a mission to save his Ukrainian wife and young child from the conflict. He and his family finally escaped the country and settled in Liverpool, where Ian was working as a teacher.
His wife Nelia, 27, is now training to get a qualification to teach English to other foreign workers coming to Britain, while three-year-old Jonathan has settled into nursery school.
The father of one is now looking to create a charity to take aid from the UK into Ukraine, and has already been back to Ukraine to deliver what he can to those in need.
He said he and his family will relocate there as soon as the war ends.
"I just think it's a nicer lifestyle over there,” he said.
"So for me, this is only temporary - it's not like I planned. I had a romanticised view of it four or five years ago and now I'm here it's horrible. So I can't wait to leave."
Ian met Nelia in 2016. She was working in a Ukrainian school where his dad was headmaster. While working there, the two got close and started dating.
In 2021, Ian decided to relocate back to England to buy a house and establish a life there. However, he smashed his left heel while working as a Just Eat driver. Meanwhile, Nelia and Jonathan were still in Ukraine when Vladimir Putin began the invasion.
To find his family, Ian took a plane to Poland before driving across the border and using a train to travel to Nikopol in south-eastern Ukraine.
Russia invaded on the first day he arrived, with the family experiencing air raid sirens and Ian even making his own molotov cocktails - in case they couldn't escape.
They eventually managed to get a taxi to Dnipro, before catching a car convoy taking more than 22 hours to get across the country, where they finally escaped into Moldova.
They flew from Romania to Manchester using money raised for the family through TikTok, where Ian had documented his journey.
Leaving Ukraine, he vowed to go back when he could.
"The fact that I knew where my family were and it wouldn't have been long until the Russians got there - I couldn't wait a week, I couldn't wait two weeks to see what happened, - I would do it again," he said.
A year on, Ian added: "We've seen a lot of different aspects of the war. Being in a war-torn country, being a refugee leaving the country, then coming to the UK as a refugee and trying to integrate into society.
"We're comfortable now. We've got a house, we've got everything that we need, but now I'm thinking about going back to Ukraine and setting up a business there."
Ian finally managed to go back to Ukraine for the first time on Thursday, February 2, taking specialist equipment, medical aid, and even a drone with him.
Ian continued: "It was the first time that I went back, even if it was just in and out as quickly as I could. It still felt really good to do something."
And now Ian has returned, he is keen to return more permanently to the war-savaged nation. He has even looked at buying a house in the West of the country.
Ian added: "I'm sure Nelia would want to be closer to her family and I can't see what England can offer us that Ukraine can't.
"I think we would be happy to move back to Ukraine, but just as long as my wife is safe.
