Ukraine: Gran reunited with family after 10-day journey

An 83-year-old grandmother from Ukraine has been reunited with her family after a 10-day journey to the UK.

Natalia Anufriieva travelled by herself to Budapest in a lorry before flying to Manchester to meet her loved ones.

Her granddaughter Tanya Mulesa, from Lancaster, said at certain points they feared they would never see her again.

"It was amazing to see gran and to give her a hug, knowing that it's over and we were together," she told BBC North West Tonight.

"It's like we ran a very emotional marathon for a long time."

Mrs Anufriieva said she was grateful to those who had been "cheering for her during her entire journey" but added "Ukraine is my home and I hope I can return one day."

Ms Mulesa said her grandmother had at first refused to leave her home of Rivne in the North West of Ukraine, adding she "was adamant she wanted to stay, fight, help, volunteer and weave the safety net".

"It was only when things started escalating and she started hearing the news that indeed it was a threat that she finally said 'yes I will come'," she added.

But Ms Mulesa admitted it was not an easy task to secure a visa to bring her grandmother to the UK and she worried for others facing similar struggles.

She said: "A lot of the people who have fled hot zones do not have any of their household bills, any documents that the government is requiring right now to upload a refugee visa.

"They didn't have the time. Many of them are now in Eastern Europe with just a passport in their hands."

Ms Mulesa described the escalating situation as utterly heartbreaking, adding her grandmother "never saw it coming".

"She was born into the Second World War so she saw the Nazi soldiers. She saw the horrors of sirens," she said.

"One of them actually put a gun to her face when she was four years old and all these memories have sprang up during this crisis now.

"It would've been awful if she ended up her life as it started."

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