A businessman who has helped channel the flow of Ukrainian refugees to a Scottish town has blasted the UK Government for callously putting lives at risk.
David Louden has so far helped bring 11 families to Dollar in Clackmannanshire but has come up against needless blockages that have derailed the escape channel for several families.
He is furious at the unexplained delay for two sisters desperate to flee with their four children from their home city of Sumy, which is under constant Russian attack.
Instead of living in Dollar and salvaging some kind of life, Anna Puhach – a qualified accountant who was working as a geography teacher – and sons Ivan, 16, and Mykhailo, 14, are facing the daily risk of Russian barrage.
Anna’s family stayed in the basement of their home for 38 consecutive days after the early bombing, while husband Yuriy, a scientist and entrepreneur, volunteered with the military.
They have been forced to take cover on many occasions since then.
Anna’s sons have all been given permission to fly to Dollar by the UK Government, as have her sister, Anastasiia Movchan, her son Pavlo and daughter Iryna, both 13.
Their father Andriy is also involved in the war effort.
But all six are still in Sumy, six weeks after their applications were submitted. Anna, 38, has been told her own application is “on hold” but has been given no further reason.
David, who hosts a Ukrainian mum and daughter in his own home, said: “The Home Office has told us nothing about the reasons for the delay in Anna’s case – merely that it is ‘on hold’.
“They have said they are awaiting certain information yet they won’t tell us – or the families – what the information is.
“This is utterly inhumane, as she has given them everything they asked for, including full biometric passports for her and her sister and their children. She is not a terrorist or any kind of threat to the UK.
She is a traumatised mother, essentially living in bunkers as her city comes under shelling.
There is a home for them in Dollar and the whole family is being forced to stay in Sumy, under attack, because some faceless UK government official hasn’t authorised Anna’s application.
“They are putting these people’s lives at risk.”
David, who set up the Dollar Refugee Hosting Group, was first contacted by the two families on May 10.
By May 16, his group had found them host families and by June 4 their visa applications were in.
He said: “On July 4 we were told that due to Anna having asthma her case would be escalated. The next day Anna’s sister’s visa was approved but a further two weeks have passed and we have no information on if and when Anna will be granted permission.
“Anna has sent me photographs of the underground shelter they have been living in for the past seven weeks and it moved me to tears. I fear for their safety.
“Anna’s messages to me have become increasingly desperate and confused. She doesn’t understand why her sister has been approved two weeks ago and still she waits.”
He added: “The reality is that finding the potential hosts was the easy part. Getting past the barriers put in place by the UK government was by far the biggest challenge.
“I have now been involved with placing 11 families in and around our town of Dollar. Every single case took weeks and weeks of emails, phone calls and often the help of the Daily Record to finally get their applications approved.”
MP John Nicolson, who has taken up the sisters’ cases, said: “These people’s lives are in clear danger.
“They are living in a bomb shelter, while people in my constituency stand ready to help. The Home Office is refusing to give them sanctuary and they are refusing to tell them what they must provide to get sanctuary in the UK.”
Sumy, on the Russian border, has been one of the Ukraine’s worst hit cities. In March a residential area was bombed, killing 21 people, including two children.
The Scottish Government earlier this month announced a three-month “pause” to its “super-sponsor” scheme for refugees, blaming a lack of homes.
The announcement came despite the Daily Record repeatedly telling of homes lying empty.
Those with applications in the system will be sent to two tower blocks in Lanarkshire that had been earmarked for demolition and a cruise ship whose cabins have less space per person for a family than a jail cell.
A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, which is handling press enquiries, said: “More than 65,600 people have safely arrived in the UK through our Homes for Ukraine scheme.
“Applications are usually processed in the order they are received but cases vary in complexity and it is right we have safeguarding checks in place to ensure the safety of Ukrainians arriving in the UK.”
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