Photos of a little girl taken before Russia's invasion of Ukraine and during the war show how a long wait for a UK visa can damage a child fleeing the war-torn nation
Mum Anastasia, 28, says her Miraslava, five, fell ill in a Polish refugee camp as she was so stressed she started having seizures amid fears she is suffering from PTSD.
In the first photo the youngster happily stands next to a Christmas tree, but the second image is a grim contrast of Miraslava looking pale and weak she she lies in a hospital bed in Poland.
Concerned families have previously claimed young refugees fleeing Ukraine are suffering mental health issues and sickness as they are forced to wait for weeks on end for their UK visas to arrive.
The Red Cross is now calling for the UK Government to temporarily “stop the need for visas for those fleeing Ukraine” like other countries have, with security checks done on arrival.
Retired Kent therapist, Chris Katsis, 67, is sponsoring the mum and Mira, her two-year-old brother Danil and their gran Yelzaveta, 51, under the Government’s Homes for Ukraine Scheme.
The family applied on March 22nd and last week finally received their visas but are still to collect their permission to travel letters.
Now they are worried after claims suggesting 29 refugees who turned up at the British Embassy in Warsaw were turned away with no documentation despite being told by email it was ready.
Chris said: “I have been terrified and thought this family could die waiting.
“Seeing Anastasia during a video conference call, sitting on a bed in tears, completely desperate and to see her daughter Mira so ill, is something you never want to see.
“I know people have died in those camps, this delay is costing lives.”
Anastasia added: “I went to hospital with Mira on Saturday because I was so worried but I think my children will recover when we leave this place.”
Jonny Hoare and his wife who live at stately home Rauceby Hall in Lincolnshire, have already taken one family into their stately home in Lincolnshire but they are now trying to help mum-of-four Alena.
She said: “We managed to escape on March 7 and then had an exhausting journey through Poland to the Netherlands which took more than a week.
“But now it is already the sixth week since I’ve applied (to the UK). We have all of them, apart from mine.
“This delay is definitely making everything harder. Children have to adapt and adapt again.
“My eldest daughter says ‘Mom, I want to go to school, I want to make friends, but I don’t want to make bonds here because I know that we will leave.
“It is torturing and so painful to hear that from a teenager.”
Mum Gina Booth, 46, from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, said it has been a “nightmare” trying to get her guest family to the UK.
Eight year old Yehor’s permission to travel arrived three weeks ago but mum, Evgeniia and his sister Mariia, 18, are still waiting while they live in a one room hostel together.
Gina said: “They are going through traumatic stress right now.
“The son has been very upset and they need to settle down. They are texting me constantly all day and every day. They have put my life in my hands.
Levgeniia told The Mirror: “We have been waiting for a visa for almost 50 days since March 18th.
"During this time we had to move countries. From Ukraine we went to Romania, then volunteers took us through Hungary and Austria to Germany then France.
“This is a great stress for the child. I’m afraid he’ll need rehab and work with a psychologist."
Hayley Timson, 47 from Southwater, West Sussex, and partner Heather, 48, offered their homes to mum Kateryna, 36, baby Denys, Anastasiia, 11, and gran Hanna, 59, weeks ago but the family is still waiting in Poland.
“It’s shameful and a disgrace.” Hayley said.
“This baby was born six weeks ago and hasn’t been checked yet by a hospital.
“This new mum has just been told she now needs biometric tests which means travelling for four hours, three times. with her two children. This puts intolerable stress on all of them, particularly the children.”
Alex Fraser, Director of Refugee Support and Restoring Family Links at the Red Cross, said: “The whole process is taking far too long.
“We’re seeing an increasing number of calls to our support line from Ukrainians struggling to get cash and housing, and British families desperate to help but being prevented by the system.”
A government spokesperson said the “UK is at the forefront of supporting those fleeing Ukraine as a result of Putin’s unprovoked aggression” and they were supporting people as “fast as we can”.
The spokesman added: “In response to Putin’s barbaric invasion we launched one of the fastest and biggest visa schemes in UK history.
"In just six weeks, almost 72,000 visas have been issued so Ukrainians can live and work in the UK.
“The changes the Home Office has made to streamline the visa system, including simplifying the forms and boosting staff numbers, are working and we are now processing visas as quickly as they come in – enabling thousands more Ukrainians to come through our uncapped routes.”
