The parents of a deaf girl trying to flee Ukraine to stay with their Aberdeenshire hosts and get vital health treatment have been caught up in government red tape for months.
Oksana Martirosova, 37, wants to move her children to safety so her six-year-old daughter Elizabeth can get quick access to medical help for her hearing impairment.
The family escaped Kyiv the day after Russia invaded and are supposed to be travelling to live with Georgia Stuart, their sponsor in Aberchirder, who is also deaf.
But they have been forced to wait more than three months for their visa applications to be processed while stuck in a “terrible” refugee complex near Pisa in Italy.
When Oksana responded to me and told me of her situation I felt an immediate affinity with the family.
– Georgia Stuart
The UK Government has been accused of failing the victims of the war, but officials insist checks must be “robust”.
Ms Stuart warned: “The government’s own advice to sponsors says ‘the safeguarding and welfare of minors remains a priority’, but I cannot see this in practice.”
Urgent treatment needed for daughter
Elizabeth, who wears a hearing aid and a hearing implant, was due to have an operation in Ukraine to get a second implant.
The treatment was called off when war broke out and she now needs the operation to happen in another country.
Ukrainian refugees have been guaranteed full access to the NHS.
Mum Oksana said: “She doesn’t understand with just the hearing aid, but she does understand with the implant, so she needs an operation to get the second implant put in.
“We need this for her future, she is my baby and I want the best for her.”
Aberdeenshire host ‘just wanted to help’
The family was put in touch with Ms Stuart after trying to find a host through social media.
The 70-year-old joined the UK Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme as soon as it was announced on television.
“When Oksana responded to me and told me of her situation I felt an immediate affinity with the family,” she told us.
“I was delighted when they said they wanted me to be their sponsor.
“It was a perfect match – I would have company and they would have a home.”
Ms Stuart has since raised her concerns about delays with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Home Secretary Priti Patel.
“I have come to know the family very well and their current living situation is not good at all,” she said.
“They exist in a sweltering one-room flat with the sleeping areas separated only by a wardrobe, the children’s bunks are insecure and dangerous, and there are no windows.
“They are thinking of travelling to Switzerland instead if they don’t hear soon.”
Woken by Russian rocket fire
Oksana and her husband Alex fled their home with Elizabeth and 10-year-old son Illya after they woke up to rocket fire at 4am on February 24.
She said they had a “beautiful life” in Ukraine and her daughter was able to go to specialist teachers for deaf children.
They spent the first night of the war in a “horrible and dirty” underground shelter before having to leave Kyiv altogether.
Oksana said: “We didn’t really expect it was going to happen to us, we were terrified.
“We just took our passports and some small things because we thought we would be able to return home.
“I love my country and I didn’t want to leave but we needed to.”
Alex has a Georgian passport so was able to leave Ukraine for Poland with the rest of the family.
Shortly afterwards, they went to Italy on the recommendation of a friend.
Oksana thought their Italian stay would be for a couple of weeks.
She continued: “It is terrible here. It is not suitable for children and families, I was horrified by it.”
UK delays
In May the family applied for their visas to come to Scotland but after 14 weeks they were still waiting to hear back from the Home Office.
Oksana said: “I don’t understand why we have had to wait so long.
“We have given them all our documents and Georgia is very happy to host us.
“A lot of other people have received their visas after only two or three weeks.”
MSP: ‘Government failing victims of war’
North East MSP Michael Marra claimed the UK Government needs to “respond to their bravery in kind”.
The Labour politician said: “To have been left waiting more than three months on a decision, while stuck in temporary accommodation unable to plan for the medical care and education of their children is unconscionable.
“The Home Office have told me they can’t offer timelines for visa cases to be resolved.
“Why not? This war is nearly six months old.”
When we contacted the Home Office for a statement we were told to go to the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities instead.
A spokeswoman for that department said they are “proud” so many people in the UK have opened their homes to Ukrainian refugees.
They added: “Applications are usually processed in the order they are received but cases vary in complexity, and it is right that we have robust safeguarding checks in place to ensure the safety of Ukrainians arriving in the UK.”