PLEASE HELP RETURN THESE CHILDREN TO THEIR MOTHER IN THE UK

The Buchko family have lived in the UK for just over 2 years.

Their father Vasyl remained in Ukraine and became a soldier in the war. After an injury he was given leave from the army and decided to surprise his children by taking them on holiday to Tenerife as this is their first holiday in many years. This was a very last minute decision and no holiday insurance was taken out.

Whilst on holiday their BRPs and passports were stolen (11.4.24) which was reported to the police immediately.

The nearest Ukrainian Embassy was in Malaga which they managed to get to after several days.

The embassy could only issue them with emergency white passports for return to Ukraine ONLY. This meant them flying to Poland and catching 3 trains to Ukraine.

The father has had to return to fight otherwise he would have been arrested for going AWOL. The children are now without their parents but are staying with other relatives and friends in Kyiv. The 2 boys (aged 9 and 16) have been poorly and their daughter spent her 15th birthday all alone on 25 April without her parents! We had copies of their Passports and BRPs (Biometric Resident Permit) but they were still not allowed to return to the UK and instead were forced to return to Ukraine!

The children have been sent back to a warzone where it is extremely dangerous and they now live in fear of their lives. Yesterday there were more bombings and every day they live in fear.

The children's mother is here in the UK as she works and is unable to leave her job and she also cares for her disabled mother. She desperately needs her children to return to the UK immediately. Her eldest son starts his GCSE exams on 10th May and cannot get into college in September if he does not sit these exams. He is extremely autistic and his school here in the UK have gone to great lengths to arrange for special support for him during these exams.

We have spent the past 3½ weeks every day and every night filling in forms and making hundreds of phone calls and sending hundreds of emails to our local MP, The Ukrainian Embassy , The British Embassy , The Home Office ,The Foreign Office , The House of Parliament, The British Red Cross and so on! Just to try to get these children back to the UK with their mother.

This week replacement passports have been issued and the next stage is for biometric testing to be done, the earliest appointment for this biometric process in Kyiv is 3rd May.

The application process has not been easy and very time consuming, there was a cost of £168 per child for each application.

After this, there is a wait of up to 8 weeks for a 'One Time Only Entry Visa' . Once in the UK we will apply for replacement visas at a cost £24.00 per child.

The flights to Malaga from Tenerife then from Malaga to Krakow, then other transportation: Buses and trains cost over £1,000.

The Mother will have to travel to Ukraine via Slovakia or Poland to help bring the children back to the UK, this will involve a visit to Warsaw to collect the 'One Time Only Entry Visas' So she will have to take unpaid time off from her job.

The cost for calling the UK Home Office is £6.00 per time plus £0.69 per minute. We have called several times as we are desperately trying to get the children expedited back to the UK.

We have evidence that the children all live here in the UK and confirmations from schools and the mothers workplace that they live here in UK. The schools have written statements pleading for the government to help return the children and have expressed the effect that this will have on the children's mental health. Their wellbeing and safeguarding is a major factor in all of this.

We are desperate to get these children back to safety as they are not safe where they are.

Any funds we can raise will help go towards the cost of this incomprehensible situation so any help, money, magic wand or advice anyone reading this could give, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Beverley Piggott

Host/Sponsor on Behalf of the Buchko Family