War in Ukraine: A family's struggle to get to Scotland

Ms Hevak's son is unable to reach bomb shelters when air-raid sirens sound in Lviv due to his wheelchair

A Scottish woman says she feels a "sense of guilt" that she has not been able to help a Ukrainian family get to the UK sooner.

Gillian Randlesome is hoping to host Nataliya Hevak's family - including her disabled son - in her home in Lanark.

But she said the visa process was taking too long for a family with a vulnerable child.

The UK government said 21,600 Ukrainians had already arrived.

Nataliya, husband Liubomyr, and their children fear for their safety in their Lviv home, which until recently had been safe from Russian attacks.

A missile attack on the western city early this week left at least seven people dead, city officials said.

Residents have been told to use air-raid bunkers but Nataliya's family cannot get into them because her son, Levko, 13, uses a wheelchair.

The eldest of three children, he was born with muscular dystrophy, a disease that causes weakness and loss of muscle mass.

The family instead take refuge in a central area of their own building, where they hope they will be safe.

"My neighbours and friends take their kids ands they go to those bomb shelters, we can't do this because it's impossible to get Levko there," Nataliya said.

Nataliya Hevak, her husband Liubomyr Pototski and young family are trying to flee the Russian invasion

Nataliya signed up for the UK's Homes for Ukraine scheme soon after the Russian invasion at the end of February.

She met Gillian online through a friend in Scotland nearly two months ago.

Gillian had hoped their visa application would be fast-tracked because of Levko's disability. She said the process was complicated and took too long for a family with a vulnerable child.

"I think it put immense stress and pressure on them and I definitely felt more pressure to try and help," she added.

Gillian Randlesome is keen to welcome Ms Hevak and her young family in Lanark

The rooms the family will have in Lanark have been made ready by Gillian, while the visa process and travel arrangements are finalised.

The UK government said almost 72,000 visas have been granted with 21,600 Ukrainians already arrived in the UK.

A spokesperson said: "We are processing thousands of visas a day - this shows the changes we made to streamline the service are working.

"We'll continue to build on this success so we can speed up the process even further."

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