Ukraine: Liverpool expat feels 'guilty' for fleeing

7 March 2022

A Liverpool man who fled Ukraine with his partner said he felt "guilty" at leaving the country he now calls home.

Peter Cribley, 33, who moved to Ukraine six years ago, said it was "heartbreaking" leaving friends who had "no choice" but to stay and fight.

"I am privileged that I had choices, I was able to leave with my partner and ensure she was safe," he said.

He described how upsetting it was to watch a country he loved be "robbed" of its future.

"People who I would normally consider to be pacifists are now picking up guns to defend their families," he said.

Mr Cribley said before the invasion Ukraine was "a country destined for success".

"Russia has robbed Ukraine of its potential future and destroyed its future outside of Russian sphere of influence," he added.

He said lots of his friends were "in a perilous situation".

"Some of them are staying, some of them are trapped and some are having to make very difficult choices," he added.

"There are people I can stay in contact with and I know roughly where they are but there are so many people who have just gone missing."

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Mr Cribley is now safe in Budapest with his Ukrainian partner Katia after crossing the border into Hungary last week.

They were helped by volunteers who were able to drive them across the border but only so far before they had to continue alone.

"Once we were over there was no infrastructure on the Hungarian side," he said.

"We were basically just in a field. We had to depend on the kindness of strangers to get us to the displacement camp.

"So far it has been positive, but I could not have sent Katia by herself."

The couple have now arranged a visa for Katia to travel to the UK and hope to arrive in Liverpool on Saturday.