Ukraine conflict: St Helens man travels to be with wife and son

Ian Umney quit his job as an English teacher to be with his Ukrainian wife and two-year-old son

A father who has travelled to Ukraine to be with his wife and son said he wanted to "make sure" they were kept safe during the Russian invasion.

Ian Umney has quit his job as an English teacher in St Helens, Merseyside, to be with his Ukrainian wife Nelia and two-year-old son.

The 28-year-old flew from Manchester to Krakow in Poland on Sunday before travelling to the Ukrainian border.

He said he felt "an overwhelming need to be with my family".

"I woke up on Thursday and spoke to my wife, she was very upset and had told me they started the bombing campaign," he added.

"It all went downhill emotionally over the next few days.

"I was angry, scared and just wanted to get here as quickly as I could.

"The only thing I have to do is go and be with them and make sure they're safe."

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On Monday afternoon, Mr Umney caught a train from Lviv to Nikopol in south-eastern Ukraine, about 500 miles (804km) away, in a journey he hoped would take him approximately 12 hours.

He said his plan, after being reunited with his wife and son Jonathan, was to try to move them to a place of greater safety and he was "leaning towards getting my family out, but the journey to do that is a bit dangerous at the moment".

Mr Umney met Nelia in 2016, later marrying her, but had to return to the UK for work.

He said he planned to apply for a partner visa for her when they decide to return to the UK.

'Feels safe'

Mr Umney said his wider family was "completely against" him going to Ukraine and had warned him not to go.

"My uncle is senior Army... he's quite well clued up on what's happening in Ukraine and he advised me not to go," he said.

"I just told him it is my decision, it's my family - I have to be there."

Despite the warnings, Mr Umney said he "feels safe" in Ukraine.

"It's very much calm, collected, quite organised and there is a massive amount of help for people over here," he said.

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