A British man who made a journey of more than 1,700 miles to be with his wife and two-year-old son in Ukraine has insisted he is not a “superstar dad” – and said he would fight the Russian army “without hesitation”.
Ian Umney, 28, has become an online sensation since beginning his trek, with nearly 200,000 people subscribing to his TikTok page where he documented his travels.
Umney, from St Helens in Merseyside, was reunited on Tuesday with his wife, Nelia, and their son, whom he asked not to be named, at their home in a city in south-east Ukraine.
Speaking to the Guardian moments after he arrived, Umney became emotional as he described stepping off the bus outside his apartment block following a 500-mile train journey from Lviv.
He said: “I looked up and I saw my mother-in-law waving at me and I waved back. And then as I went to the door of the apartment block, my wife and son opened the door. And my son put his arms out to me, and gave me a hug. Yeah, there were a few tears. And that felt amazing.”
Umney, who has lived in Ukraine for six years, was in Britain for work when the Russian army invaded five days ago, leaving Nelia and their son at home in a city near the Russian border.
He said he had not seen his wife and son for nearly a month after they returned to Ukraine after a short stay in Britain on tourist visas for Christmas.
Umney said he was woken by his wife in a tearful phone call on Thursday to tell him that Vladimir Putin had sent in Russian troops.
Having being talked out of driving to Ukraine from Merseyside, Umney instead flew from Manchester to Kraków, in Poland, on Sunday, documenting his voyage on TikTok, where his updates have received millions of views.
He told the Guardian the journey was “filled worry and angst” and that he had been stopped and questioned by armed soldiers, including outside his home where the Ukrainian military asked to see his documentation. “It’s all been worth it now I’ve given my wife and son a hug and they are a bit relieved that I’m here.”
He added: “I’m quite shocked that so many people are supporting me, calling me a hero, a superstar dad and a brave person. I’m not. I’m just Ian from England and my wife and son are away and I have to be with them.”
Umney said his first priority was to bombproof their home and tape up their windows. They had planned to travel to the Polish border and then back to the UK but he said he would almost certainly be conscripted into the Ukrainian army.
His second option, he said, was to “defend the city, and if I need to I will defend Kharkiv and Kyiv. I will do that without hesitation.”
Previously a teacher, Umney said he had no military experience and had only ever fired airsoft or BB guns. However, he said he would be prepared to pick up a weapon to fight Russian shoulders.
He said: “I’ve got no military experience. Nobody here does. They’re all civilians who are taking up arms. So I’m no different to them. They’re just Ukrainians. I’m just married to one. My heart is here. My blood is half here – my son. I have no second thoughts about picking up a weapon.
“I don’t have experience but I’ve got some knowledge. And I just have the heart and determination to defend Ukraine. So I will fight alongside the Ukrainians just as they would with me.”
