A British man has launched a one-man mission to save his wife and baby son stuck in Ukraine amid the brutal Russian invasion.
Ian Umney, an English teacher from London, travelled to the war-torn country to rescue Nelia and their little boy.
The former cybersecurity worker vowed he was ‘on the way to reunite with my family by whatever means’.
It comes as UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace urged Britons not to travel to Ukraine to join the fighting as he said the ‘very dangerous’ situation could lead to death.
Mr Wallace said he did not ‘want to see British people killed any more than I want to see Ukrainians’ dying.
His words followed Cabinet colleague Liz Truss saying she would ‘absolutely’ support Brits who chose to go to help fight against the Russian invasion.
The bloody conflict entered a fifth day on Monday as Russian forces continued to bombard major cities.
But Ukrainian soldiers and citizen warriors launched a strong counterinsurgency and have mostly held their own.
Ian Umney, an English teacher from London, travelled to the war-torn country to rescue Nelia and their little boy (pictured together)
Mr Umney has documented his journey through the Ukraine crisis across social media before he decided to fly out.
He posted a video on TikTok yesterday of his military bag packed with belongings as well as a holdall as he prepared to make the trip.
He captioned the clip: ‘I am heading to Ukraine to rescue my wife and son.’ He said in the footage: ‘I’ve got everything packed, not going to get much more in there.’
He continued: ‘Decided to take a little holdall because as a Brit going abroad I need the most essential things – PG Tips and a cup.
‘And I’ve got my everyday things in there, chargers, cigs and stuff, but yes, I’m ready to go. I’m leaving to the airport… I’ll let you know what happens.’
Mr Umney travelled to Manchester Airport where he was taking a flight to Krakow in Poland.
He said in another post: ‘I’m here at Manchester Airport heading to the gate then on to the flight to Krakow.
‘The next update I want to do is if I can get into Krakow, get on the WiFi, make sure everyone knows I’m there.’
He added: ‘But mainly will be when I’m at the border of Ukraine – so I’ll give you an update then.’
The former cybersecurity worker (pictured with his wife) vowed he was ‘on the way to reunite with my family by whatever means’
The next video he shared was of him walking through the railway station at Krakow Airport.
He said: ‘There’s the train going to the city centre, next stop will be the border. Stay in touch. Slava Ukraini.’
Mr Umney posted his most recent clip on Monday morning as he crossed the border into Ukraine on what appeared to be a bus.
He said: ‘So I made it successfully into Ukraine last night. And now we’re just approaching the outskirts of Lviv.’
The Briton went to school in Western Australia where he played first team rugby before moving to Germany to attend Frankfurt International School.
He went on to study computer engineering at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee in the US.
Mr Umney moved to Ukraine in February 2016 where he worked as a teacher at a school in Dnipro.
But for the past five years he has run his own service, which runs courses for locals looking to speak English.
His LinkedIn says: ‘Experienced teacher with a history of working in the private education system in Ukraine.
‘I have a strong interest in cyber security and I am currently studying for several CompTIA certifications to pivot into the industry next year.
‘My personal ambition is to relocate back to the UK next year, in the new career, and build up experience and skills to progress into digital forensics within 10 years.’
Mr Umney has documented his journey through the Ukraine crisis across social media before he decided to fly out. Pictured: Mrs Umney
Mr Umney appeared to toy with the idea on social media as the Russian invasion spiralled out of control before declaring he would fly out.
He wrote on Facebook: ‘I cannot sit here, while my wife and son are in Ukraine, and watch the freedom and safety of Ukraine be threatened by Putin.
‘I took four days of stress, upset, hurt, and anger but now I have packed my bag, planned, written my letters.
‘I’m now on the way to reunite with my family by whatever means. Please continue to support Ukraine and those who are in need.
‘I will post updates. I love you all. I will be safe. Stand strong, Ukraine! Glory to Ukraine.’
It comes as Defence Secretary Mr Wallace urged Britons not to travel to Ukraine to join the fighting.
He said he did not ‘want to see British people killed any more than I want to see Ukrainians’ dying.
But it comes days after Cabinet colleague Liz Truss said she would ‘absolutely’ support British nationals who chose to go to help fight against the Russian invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a new ‘international legion’ to defend his country and appealed to foreigners to come forward and bare arms.
Foreign Secretary Ms Truss told the BBC: ‘The people of Ukraine are fighting for freedom and democracy, not just for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe.
‘Absolutely, if people want to support that struggle I would support them in doing that.’
It comes as Defence Secretary Mr Wallace urged Britons not to travel to Ukraine to join the fighting
But Mr Wallace, who served in the Scots Guards, said there were ‘better ways’ for Britons to help.
He told Sky News Ms Truss was right it was a ‘just cause’, but added: ‘If you’re keen to help and you’re a United Kingdom citizen, come and join our armed forces.
‘Look, there are people who will go… I think what I would say is unless you are properly trained, unless you are a, you know, experienced member of an armed forces, I think there are better ways for you to contribute to the security of Ukraine.’
He said this could be through donating money through the Ukrainian embassy to be spent on weaponry and aid, or to volunteer with organisations helping refugees.
Mr Zelensky’s call for an international legion carried echoes of the International Brigades that fought against the fascists in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba appeared to encourage the comparison, saying just as Hitler had finally been defeated, ‘we will defeat Putin, too’.
He tweeted: ‘Foreigners willing to defend Ukraine and world order as part of the International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine, I invite you to contact foreign diplomatic missions of Ukraine in your respective countries.
‘Together we defeated Hitler, and we will defeat Putin, too.’
Volunteers from the Territorial Defense Units gather in an outpost to collect weapons, train and get their assignments in Kyiv
Mr Wallace was asked on LBC whether, with his military experience, he would head to Ukraine if he was not a Government minister.
He said although he would ‘always fight for my country’, he joked he would ‘probably be reduced by now to be in charge of, at my age, the Home Guard or something’.
But he said the situation in Ukraine was ‘very dangerous’ and citizens should find other ways to support the country.
Armed forces minister James Heappey was asked on Good Morning Britain whether he would echo Ms Truss’s words.
He said: ‘I probably wouldn’t. And I think that the travel advice is that UK nationals should not travel to Ukraine.
‘But if people are filled with a desire to stand up for freedom, like generations of young people before them, they would be very, very welcome at their nearest Army, Navy, Air Force recruiting office,’ he said.
‘I just think people have to have their eyes wide open to what war is and it is not somewhere that you just jump on a plane, grab a rifle and get going.
‘The people that you see doing that in Kyiv are doing it because they are facing an existential threat, out of absolute desperation.’
There have been questions about the legality of Britons going abroad to fight in previous foreign conflicts.
In 2014, the CPS warned UK nationals who went to fight in the Syrian civil war could be committing an offence, even if they joined the rebels fighting Bashar Assad.
UKRAINE-RUSSIA WAR LIVE: Get the latest news on Putin’s invasion
Sixty British volunteers are heading to fight Putin’s invaders: Band of ex-Army and Special Forces soldiers ‘will arrive in Ukraine within days’ – as Ben Wallace urges people in UK NOT to join fighting
- Sixty British volunteers will fight Putin’s invaders in Ukraine within days
- The move answers Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call to arms
- They are led by Mamuka Mamulashvili, Georgian National Legion commander
- Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the UK will back Britons going to fight in Ukraine
- Yet Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has urged Brits not to join the fighting
Sixty British volunteers are heading to Ukraine to fight against Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces.
The former Army and Special Forces soldiers have been gathered by Mamuka Mamulashvili, 43, commander of the Georgian National Legion.
It comes after MailOnline exclusively revealed on Saturday that foreigners crossing into Ukraine to take up arms after a call from president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Sunday the UK would back Britons if they travelled to join the resistance movement who are bravely repelling the Russian forces.
However, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said he didn’t ‘want to see British people killed any more than I want to see Ukrainians’ and asked people who were not properly trained or an ‘experienced member of an armed forced’ not to join the war in Ukraine.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine was ‘very dangerous’, he told Sky News, and there were ‘better ways’ to support the country.
In an exclusive interview with MailOnline commander Mamulashvili said: ‘I have a very big group of Britons, around sixty travelling to Ukraine to join up with my Georgian National League unit.
Sixty British volunteers are heading to Ukraine to fight against Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces, led by Mamuka Mamulashvili, Georgian National Legion (pictured training in Kyiv in January) commander
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (pictured) said the UK will back Britons going to fight in Ukraine
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace (pictured) said he didn’t ‘want to see British people killed any more than I want to see Ukrainians’ and asked people who were not properly trained or an ‘experienced member of an armed forced’ not to join the war in Ukraine
A Russian tank burning in the Ukrainian city of Sumy just days after newly revealed dashcam footage showed a huge column of tanks moving in
‘They are travelling by car from the UK and will cross over at the Polish border. I am expecting them here with equipment and supplies in the next few days.
‘They are mostly guys who have fought with me in Ukraine before but there are also new recruits as well.
‘We will provide them with training and weapons and they are coming from London and all over Britain.
‘Their background is former British Army and Special Forces and they are good fighters, they can be trusted to take on the Russian aggressors and most importantly win.
Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Ukraine faces a ‘crucial’ 24 hours as Russia throws even more ground forces at Kyiv
Plumes of smoke rise from a building, which was caused by a cruise missile according to local media, in Kyiv, Ukraine
Smoke billows over the town of Vasylkiv, which is just outside Kyiv on February 27
Public Chernihiv reports that a rocket hit a residential building in the centre of Chernihiv, north of Kyiv. A fire broke out with two lower floors ablaze. The number of injured is currently unknown
‘What I want to stress is that none of them are getting paid, they are not mercenaries, they are all volunteers.’
Commander Mamulashvili is a veteran of the 2008 war against Russia in Georgia and a mixed martial arts expert and founded the unit in 2014 to provide foreign fighters in Ukraine’s war against Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region.
He added: ‘The guys from the UK are just bringing basic equipment with their uniforms and rations, they will get weapons when they arrive.
‘Putin is very much mistaken if he thinks he will take Ukraine, he will face a fight to the death as the Ukrainian army has shown how brave and strong it is.
‘They have experience and now they have good equipment from the rest of Europe and the world and now we have the backing of some of the best foreign volunteer soldiers in the world.
‘We know some of us might die but unless we fight against Russia, Putin will just keep going and trying to take countries.
‘When he went into Georgia in 2008 the then President of my country said Ukraine would be next and he was right.’
Father-of-two Mamulashvili added that he ‘expected’ the number of volunteers from Britain and elsewhere to top 500 within the next few days after having received dozens of requests asking for details on how to join up.
Members of Georgian Legion train civilians to adapt them with the self-defence capabilities in January
The paramilitary unit formed mainly by ethnic Georgian volunteers to fight against Russian aggression in Ukraine in 2014, now includes people of various nationalities
Commander Mamuka Mamulashvili told MailOnline: ‘anyone from the UK who wants to come and fight is to get in touch with the Ukrainian embassy in London and they will advise how to get to our base. If that is not possible volunteers should make their way to Poland and cross the border into Ukraine and head for the city of Lviv where we have a mobilisation base and make themselves known to the local authorities’
He added: ‘My advice for anyone from the UK who wants to come and fight is to get in touch with the Ukrainian embassy in London and they will advise how to get to our base.
Ukraine war: The latest
- Ukraine’s MoD says Russia has lost 5,300 soldiers, 29 planes, 29 helicopters and 151 tanks
- Russia’s MoD has for the first time acknowledged suffering losses but refused to say how many
- Russian economy entered freefall as Western sanctions put in place over the weekend took effect, with the ruble sliding to its lowest level ever
- Moscow’s central bank has more than doubled the interest rate to 20 per cent
- Russia orders people and companies to sell 80 per cent of their revenue in foreign currencies, forcing them to buy the ruble to help prop it up
- Moscow stock exchange won’t open until at least 3pm in an attempt to head off all-out crash
‘If that is not possible volunteers should make their way to Poland and cross the border into Ukraine and head for the city of Lviv where we have a mobilisation base and make themselves known to the local authorities but for obvious reasons I cannot give you the exact address.’
Earlier this year it emerged that at least two Brits were fighting in Ukraine, Aiden Aslin, 28, from Newark, Nottinghamshire and Sean Pinner, 48, from Bedfordshire.
Harry Jackson, 27, who founded UK Aid for Ukraine, and launched an appeal on Facebook for volunteers and equipment said he had been ‘flooded with offers of help’.
Harry said: ‘I’m putting people in touch with Mamuka Mamulashvili, commander of the Georgian National Legion.
‘I have helmets, flak jackets and medical supplies all going out as well as a group of volunteers.’
On Sunday President Zelensky urged foreigners to head to Ukrainian embassies in their home countries to sign up for an ‘international brigade’ to help fight invading Russian forces.
He said: ‘All foreigners wishing to join the resistance against the Russian occupiers and protect global security are invited by the Ukrainian leadership to come to our state and join the ranks of the territorial defence forces,’ Zelensky said in a statement on the presidential website.
‘A separate unit is being formed from foreigners — the International Brigade of the territorial defence of Ukraine. This will be a key testimony of your support for our country.’
Since 2016 it has been legal for foreigners to join the Ukrainian army.
Click here for MailOnline’s liveblog with the latest updates on the Ukraine crisis
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10559747/British-mans-mission-save-wife-baby-son-stuck-Ukraine.html
