‘I fear I will have no home to come back to’

Irina Mizenina fled Ukraine with her daughter shortly after the Russian invasion began over a month ago

Ukrainian refugee in Ireland's fears for home

A Ukrainian woman who fled Kyiv and is now living in a hotel in the Republic of Ireland fears that she will have no home to return to.

Irina Mizenina fled Ukraine with her daughter shortly after the Russian invasion began over a month ago.

They now are now both living in a hotel in Letterkenny, County Donegal, that hosts up to 90 Ukrainian refugees.

Ms Mizenina and her child, Mazgazita, are staying as part of the country's humanitarian policy for Ukrainian refugees.

Those fleeing Ukraine can enter the country without checks or visas beforehand.

Ukrainian refugees will have access to benefits and healthcare, as well as having the right to work in the country.

'Then it was all gone'

Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle's Breakfast Show, Ms Mizenina said the she feared for her family's safety when she heard bombs going off across the city.

“I had to leave my home, all my stuff, all my things and all my life in Kyiv,” she told the programme.

“We had to move to a more peaceful and safe place for my child."

Ms Mizenina and her daughter fled to western Ukraine and then through Bratislava in Slovakia before coming to the Republic of Ireland.

“The child [Mazgazita] was crying and was scared, she didn’t understand why she can’t go back to Kyiv to her home and her toys," she said.

“She had a social life, she was going to lessons - English lessons - and was preparing to go to school and then it was all gone."

Ms Mizenina, whose husband has stayed in the country, said she does not know what remains for her previous life back in Ukraine.

"Every morning I look in the news and I don’t even know if I have a house anymore."