Igor Gavrylko was at his home in west London when the Russian bombs began to fall on Ukraine. A British citizen originally from Ukraine, he had lived in the UK since 1996, working most recently for Nissan as a forecourt salesperson. He rang his boss. “I knew a Russian invasion was going to happen,” he said. “My Ukrainian grandfather fought against the Red Army and the Nazis in world war two. Now it’s my turn to help.”
Gavrylko set off by car from Ealing and drove across Europe. By the time he arrived in Ukraine his elderly parents had already had a narrow escape. Russian missiles had destroyed the airport in their home town of Ivano-Frankivsk. “My city was bombarded,” he said. Gavrylko arranged for his mother, sister and four-year-old niece to escape to Poland. His 74-year-old father, Bogdan, refused to leave.
Now based in the western city of Lviv, Gavrylko is one of thousands of volunteers from around the world who have come to Ukraine to defend the country from Russian attack. Some have Ukrainian roots. Others are military veterans with no family ties who have decided to fight with Ukraine’s army. According to Gavrylko, “several hundred” Britons have already arrived, including Ben Grant, the son of a Tory MP. » | Luke Harding in Lviv | Friday, March 11, 2022
