During the Russian occupation of Kherson, the Ukrainian city was fraught with danger. As well as nightly bombings and terror on the streets, Valya Pylypenko’s parents had heard of teenage girls being raped by Russian forces.
So last April, they made the desperate decision to get their 17-year-old daughter out of Ukraine – despite knowing they would need to remain in Kherson themselves to look after her disabled brother, Ivan.
Valya says the family rang the British Home Office visa hotline and were told she was eligible to apply for a UK visa.
