Scotland is still a safe haven for Ukrainians fleeing Putin’s war

My sister-in-law’s wee boy turned five last week. I first met him when he was a few months old as he arrived at Edinburgh airport with his mother and big sister on a flight from Poland. They were forced to flee Ukraine when Russian troops invaded their country in February 2022.

They thought their stay in Edinburgh would be brief but here they are, more than four years later, with my nephew set to start primary school after the summer holidays.

The family had to leave friends and other family members behind in Kyiv as only women and children were allowed to leave the country and take up the offer of a safe haven here in Scotland.

However, after four years there is no sign that the war is looking likely to end soon. Indeed, if recent events are anything to go by it would appear that Putin has stepped up Moscow’s missile attacks on the civilian population, with Edinburgh’s Twin City, Kyiv, bearing the brunt of this escalation.

Despite or rather because of the heavy losses his armed forces have suffered on the front-line, Putin is not suing for peace but, is desperately deploying the tactic of trying to strike terror in the hearts of the civilian population in an effort to beat them into submission.

While Ukraine hits oil refineries and military targets in Russia, causing significant fuel shortages and power cuts, Moscow targets residential blocks of flats, inflicting severe damage, resulting in mounting civilian deaths and injuries.

It is against this backdrop that my Ukranian relatives fear for the lives of those that they had to leave behind. They scour news bulletins and make daily telephone calls home but despite the recent wave of Russian attacks they remain steadfast and refuse to buckle under the pressure.

The war has had life changing consequences for my nephew as he is preparing for primary school in Edinburgh rather than Kyiv, but at least he and his family are safe here, the people of Scotland and Edinburgh have seen to that.