A Ukrainian woman living in Carlow for the past ten years is trying desperately to escape the war-torn country and to return home to Ireland.
Valentyna Luchki, a former employee of Gowran Abbey Nursing home in Kilkenny, returned to her native Ukraine recently to visit family. She had hoped to return to Ireland this week, but she now finds herself trapped in the country amidst the current Russian invasion.
Valentyna’s daughter, Olga, is also a former Carlow resident, now living and working in Poland.
Olga explained to KCLR’s The Way It Is on Friday, the hopes that her family has for Valentyna’s safe return; “There are still trains that are going to the borders. Ukraine launched additional trains to help women with children to get to the border, so we’re hoping that she will get to one of these trains. We will have to see, because we do not know how this situation will look on Sunday. Then she will have to stay in line, but I don’t know for how long, as I have some friends that have been waiting in a line for two days with their kids, some of who aren’t even a year old.”
While Olga welcomes the support of Western governments for her country, she believes that sanctions alone are not enough; “It’s really good to know that we’re not alone, but on the political scale, the sanctions and the pressure that the governments all over the world are giving to Russia, it is just nothing – because nothing will stop Russia and their aggression.”
Olga continued “I’m proud of my nation actually, because our fathers and brothers are fighting, and we have a long history of fighting for our independence, so we will not just give up. We will fight, and our guys will fight until their last breath for our independence.”
You can listen to Olga’s full interview with Sue Nunn, below.
