Fareham woman tells of her terror after Russian military bombs Ukrainian city Kharkiv where her mother lives

Ukrainian national Hanna Greentree, who has lived in the UK since 2017, said her mum Iryna Pavlova has been left stranded in the city Kharkiv, which was bombed by Russia as it launched a ‘full-scale invasion’ of Ukraine today.

Heartbroken Hanna said she fears for her mother’s safety, amid reports residents buildings in the Chuguiv district of the city had been destroyed in the dawn assault.

Speaking to The News, 43-year-old Mrs Greentree said she had been frantically calling her mum, who is without any internet access and having to use a subway to shelter from the bombardment.

She said: 'I’ve just been crying all day. I’m very emotional.

‘People are scared. People can see the explosions. There are pictures from the internet. Some people are already injured. I’m just speechless.

'My mum is living in the city where this is happening. She heard some explosions. She heard some bombs being dropped.

‘She is currently in hiding and instructed to stay at home. All the streets are empty.

‘Russia is very close. People have to go to a subway underground to hide.

'The railways have stopped operating. The airports have been shut down. There is no travelling within the country. Only people with cars can get around. There is a lot of traffic. People are scared and are trying to escape.’

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She added: ‘I think until the last moment we didn’t believe it would happen. America, the UK and Europe are all on our side. We all really believed this would stop Russia. We didn’t think Russia would do anything but they have.

'It just doesn’t feel real. This is not a Hollywood movie, it is happening. There are real people out there getting killed.

‘This is truly bad. It is real. It’s difficult. This is not an exaggeration. This is a real war. This is war, a real war that Putin has started.'

Now she has issued a desperate plea to the British government, urging ministers to help evacuate Ukrainians who have relatives already in the UK.

It comes as trade minister Penny Mordaunt this morning announced she was working on securing Visas for some Ukrainian nationals who have loved ones living in her Portsmouth North constituency.

In a direct plea to Boris Johnson, Mrs Greentree said: ‘Please let these people like mum – and other families like ours – come to Britain. Please make them safe. We will sign any documents, whatever they want. I just want my mum and for her to be safe.'

News agency Aljazeera has reported that several buildings in the city of Kharkiv have been ‘badly damaged’ with pictures from the scene showing windows blown out and walls having been collapsed.

A police officer based in the city told the agency that casualties were still being ‘evaluated’.

Dozens of people across Ukraine are reported to have been killed so far.

The attacks were given the green light by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Speaking of the Russian leader, Mrs Greentree added: ‘I feel hate for Putin. I hate him for what he has done.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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