Oxford expat leaves Ukraine and plans UK return

Wes Gleeson, originally from Headington in Oxford, was living with his wife in Kyiv before the Russian invasion

Wes Gleeson Wes Gleeson — Wes Gleeson, originally from Headington in Oxford, was living with his wife in Kyiv before the Russian invasion

A British expat who fled his Kyiv home with his wife after the Russian invasion has left Ukraine and plans to return to his parents.

Wes Gleeson, from Headington in Oxford, is married to a Ukrainian woman and has lived in the country for 12 years.

They are now staying in Hungary after travelling to Moldova.

The couple has been joined by his wife's sister and her seven-year-old daughter, but his brother-in-law remains in Ukraine.

Mr Gleeson, 43, said he had to have an "unbelievably difficult" conversation with his brother-in-law after the family decided to leave Ukraine without him.

All Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60 are required to stay in the country and help with the effort to repel the Russian invasion.

Mr Gleeson's mother-in-law and father-in-law refused to leave Ukraine, he said

Wes Gleeson — Mr Gleeson's mother-in-law and father-in-law refused to leave Ukraine, he said

Mr Gleeson's wife's parents also refused to leave Ukraine and remain there.

The group - and the Gleesons' cat - are now in Budapest following a 26-hour bus journey from Moldova and are being "pampered" by friends.

"It's kind of hard to enjoy. They've been giving us really nice wine and I have to force it down," Mr Gleeson said.

"It's nice but how can I drink nice wine when you look at the news and there are people who can't even drink water in Mariupol?

"Two colleagues in the company I used to work for have gone missing in Mariupol."

Many buildings in Mariupol have been damaged by Russian shelling

Reuters A residential buildfing in Mariupol — Many buildings in Mariupol have been damaged by Russian shelling

Mr Gleeson said he felt guilty when he remembered possessions that he had left behind in Kyiv.

He said: "These are things that can eventually be replaced. My income's mostly gone but my responsibilities have tripled now.

"Stuff is nothing. Whenever my mind wanders to thinking about the record collection I spent 25 years on, I immediately shut myself down."

Yoga studio owner Yana Lutsy is Ukrainian but now lives in Caversham, Berkshire.

Her mother and sister have left the country but her father, brother-in-law and grandmother remain in Ukraine.

"My father and brother-in-law are not going to leave. And though my Dad is 64, he said: 'I am not going to give up. I was born here and live here and if I need to die here I will do protecting my country,'" she said.

"It's such a mixed feeling. You want everyone out, of course. But you understand that it is your country and you need to protect it. If I was there I probably would have stayed myself."