Ukraine: Oxford expat prioritises leaving Ukraine after fleeing Kyiv

A British expat who left his Kyiv home with his family has said leaving Ukraine was now his priority.

Wes Gleeson, who is originally from Oxford, has lived in the capital for 12 years and has a Ukrainian wife.

The couple left the city for a house in the countryside on Thursday with her parents and her sister, following the Russian invasion.

Mr Gleeson said the family was having "very difficult conversations" over what to do next.

They are now staying at a house outside Kyiv, after being dropped off by his brother-in-law who needed to return to the city.

But Mr Gleeson said there were "complications" about what might follow.

"My wife's parents are here, they've lived here all their lives - they've never been abroad," he said.

"They don't have passports, which isn't a problem at the border at the moment as they're letting refugees through - and our undocumented cat is going to be fine in any country.

"But understandably anyone who's never left is going to be reluctant to leave.

"They've got nothing abroad. They can't start thinking about learning a language over the age of 60."

Mr Gleeson said they needed to discuss what the group would do if they needed to break up to be transported around the Ukraine, or out of the country.

"Because there's six of us, we can't get one car to take us," he said.

"So if we had to break up into groups, they're such a tight family and there's so much love in it, my wife doesn't want to leave her mum behind, even if there could be another car that comes later," the 43-year-old told BBC Radio Oxford.

"Seeing her and giving her a hug and telling her that she loved her yesterday, I had to leave the room, I couldn't take it. There have been so many things that were difficult.

"I actually held it together [in Kyiv], which you have to do I guess, in dangerous situations.

"But then you come away and start to understand the gravity of it and I'm just trying to keep the grief part until we've reached our goal."

Hundreds of people demonstrated in Oxford to show solidarity with people across Ukraine on Sunday.

Organiser Roma Tokaryk said it "felt inspiring and incredibly supportive and encouraging".

On Monday, ministers said Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion could come to the UK if they had relatives who were British nationals.

But Labour said it was "shameful" the rules only covered certain relatives and excluded parents and siblings.

The EU has supported plans to accept Ukrainian refugees for up to three years, without asking them to apply for asylum.

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