A Gloucester councillor has told of how his sister-in-law’s parents are sheltering from Russian missiles in Ukraine.
Gloucester City Council passed a motion of solidarity with Ukraine on Thursday in response to the ongoing Russian invasion.
And Cllr Declan Wilson (LD, Hucclecote) called on local people to show their support for the Ukrainian people by gathering at the Mariners Church in Gloucester at noon tomorrow.
He told the council he is worried about his Ukrainian sister-in-law’s family and rang her as soon as he heard the news about the invasion.
He said: “It was the news I hoped I would never have to hear in my lifetime and thought I never would.
“The first thing that I did was ring my sister-in-law in Dublin, she’s from Ukraine.
“I know her parents Dima and Tanya live in a town near the border with Belarus.
“Initially, when I was talking to them about this a few weeks back they were thinking they didn’t have much to worry about as the trouble was in the disputed territories in the east of the country.
“But as soon as the Russian military exercises were underway in Belarus they were wise enough to see what was possibly going on.
“He’s been stockpiling for weeks now and has also been going to cash machines to take out all the cash he can from his various pensions and stacking it in the house.
“They are now hunkered in and are expecting the worst. A town close to them was hit by missiles last night and we are very worried about them. Very often we have to remember the victims of war are not necessarily on the battleground.
“Two elderly people caught up in a flat in a city that is being bombed doesn’t sound very hopeful at all. If anyone is saying a prayer tonight please say one for them and everyone else.
He also called on councillors to put pressure on Gloucester’s MP to bring in more sanctions on Russian oligarchs who support Vladimir Putin’s regime.
By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter