Parents of Ukrainian-Irish woman helping refugees in makeshift rescue centre

Many children and women fleeing war-torn cities have travelled to the west of the country.

Nataliya O’Connor, a mother-of-who from Ukraine who lives in Dublin, with her parents Vasyl and Anastasia Rusal, who run a makeshift rescue centre in west Ukraine.Picture supplied by Nataliya O’Connor.

A Ukrainian woman living in Ireland has made a plea for donations after her parents turned their rehabilitation centre into a makeshift refuge shelter in western Ukraine.

Nataliya O’Connor said her home city of Chernivtsy is overflowing with refugees, many of whom are children and women, travelling from Kyiv and eastern cities amid the Russian invasion.

Many children and women fleeing war-torn cities have travelled to the west of the country and are staying in school halls and other buildings.

Ms O’Connor, who moved to Ireland 21 years ago when she was 18,  said her parents turned their rehabilitation centre for children with disabilities into a rescue centre.

They feel responsible to help their country and to help all Ukrainian people who were left without a roof over their head and also to protect their country

Nataliya O’Connor

They are providing shelter and dinners to around 300 refugees, the youngest of whom is two months old.

Ms O’Connor, who lives in Dublin, said her parents declined an offer to leave Ukraine and travel to Ireland after the Irish Government waived visa requirements.

“They feel responsible to help their country and to help all Ukrainian people who were left without a roof over their head and also to protect their country,” Ms O’Connor said.

“My parents Vasyl and Anastasia and their work colleagues have been cooking dinners, buying all the supplies and taking a good care of everybody who came to the city.

“These people have travelled through the front lines of war and some of them trapped between battlefields of Russian and Ukrainian army.”

There are around 10,000 adults and 2,000 children who fled to her hometown of Chernivtsy, and the numbers are increasing every day.

Ms O’Connor has raised almost 5,000 euro, but urgently needs more donations.

“It’s just incredible to see because the money will go straight in to the hands of my family’s organisation that are dealing directly with the crisis,” Ms O’Connor told PA news agency.

“It’s heart-breaking and at this point they need money. They have supplies and goods.

“They need something now and they need money for diesel to drive a bus to deliver goods.

“Every night they have sirens and curfews and have to sit in darkness and talk in the darkness.

“My mum’s sister who is aged in her 80s and lives on a sixth floor apartment can’t rush to the basement, so she sleeps in the bath.

“She puts pillows in the bath and sleeps there by herself.

“Every time I call them they’re busy, they’re doing something which is great because it keeps them going, they are distracted because otherwise they will go crazy.

“A big worry for everyone are the bombs.

“When the Russians launch rockets and the air warning goes off.

“They know the missile is being launched.

“But they don’t know where it is going to end up.

A woman walks past anti-war graffiti in support of Ukraine (Niall Carson/PA) (PA Wire)

“My parents don’t want to come to Ireland, they are helping too many people now.

“We had a big fight because once we heard that they didn’t need a visa I wanted them to come over.

“But they said no. I was upset and heart-broken. I am very scared for them.

“They only started cooking around 50 dinners and now they are cooking for a large amount of people, maybe 300 people and making lunches and dinners and sending food to Kyiv too because it has been cut off.

“They deserve to be free.

“They deserve to live in democracy, they’re fighting so hard for their democracy.”

“The world has to stand with them.”

The fundraising link is https://www.gofundme.com/f/vdyg6-help-ukraine/vdyg6-help-ukraine/share