A 200 meter long Ukrainian flag is unfolded at the Olympiyskiy stadium in Kyiv. Picture: AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
Wed, 23 Feb, 2022 – 14:12
An Irishman living in Kyiv has called on the Government to issue temporary visas so he can bring his Ukrainian wife and family to Ireland.
It comes amid conflict after Russian troops entered Ukrainian territory on Monday. Two territories in easter Ukraine have been as independent states by Russia and troops have been moved to the region to carry out “peacekeeping duties”.
Brendan Murphy said Ireland was the only European country that requires a visa and that there was a backlog of a year for such visas. He said they were issued in Moscow and required detailed documents some of which took a long time to source,
Mr Murphy wants to bring his wife, her mother, her daughter and granddaughter to Ireland temporarily until the current situation in Ukraine is resolved, he told RTÉ’s News at One.
He had not received an official response from the Department of Justice other than “a general email” advising Irish citizens to leave Ukraine.
“It was a general email to leave the country, those circumstances would mean that either I abandon my family or I take them to Warsaw or the Czech Republic and become a displaced person.”
If he and his family were to take the option of going to a third country it would require him to pay for accommodation for an undetermined length of time.
It was not an option to leave his family behind, he said.
There was no reason why there should be delays in issuing visas in the circumstances. Ireland could easily align itself with other European countries “and get rid of this nightmare.”
In the meantime, people in Kyiv were concerned but there was no panic buying, he said.
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Nphet members Tony Holohan, Ronan Glynn, and Philip Nolan leaving Government Buildings after a
