Ukraine: Oxford expat leaves Kyiv home after invasion

A man from Oxford who has lived in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv for 12 years has left his home as Russian troops seek to topple the country's government.

Wes Gleeson, who is originally from Headington, left the city with his family on Thursday after the invasion.

Their journey to an area outside the city took three times longer than normal because of traffic leaving Kyiv.

He said the prospect of losing friends who will fight Russian troops was "dominating" his thoughts.

Mr Gleeson said the whole country was "under pressure" and faced with tough choices about what to do next.

"All of my worldly goods are in a flat that I may never see again," he said.

"Even though that's material and I should think about the family and myself and what my friends and family back home are saying, in the back of my head I'm thinking, 'what if the whole city I've spent the last 12 years in is levelled?"'

He said he saw pets abandoned at the side of roads as people fled the capital.

About 18,000 guns have been handed out to Ukrainians who have volunteered to defend their country.

"I've got very good friends who are very militant - I love them - but they're getting the Kalashnikovs in Kyiv, they're dishing them out," the 43-year-old said.

"I've got more than one friend who is ready to fight. I don't want to lose them and that's dominating me at the moment. That's a horrible prospect of losing friends."

Members of the Territorial Defence Forces, the reserve component of Ukraine's military, have been deployed around Kyiv to confront the Russian advance.

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