'Spirits are high' as Irish student nears end of journey out of Ukraine
Racheal Diyaolu from Co Carlow began her journey out of Sumy in Ukraine on Monday morning.
An Irish medical student who has been trapped in war-torn eastern Ukraine is in high spirits as she nears the end of her long journey out of Sumy following a dramatic rescue.
Racheal Diyaolu, from Carlow, was studying medicine at Sumy State University but spent the last week hiding in a bunker at a hostel as Russian shelling intensified.
A rescue attempt by two Scottish volunteer drivers was halted on Sunday when they were stopped and turned back at gunpoint by Russian soldiers in the area.
However, on Monday the rescue team connected with Ms Diyaolu and two Nigerian students Roycee Iloielunachi and Anolajuwon Solarin to start the drive out of danger.
Speaking to the on Tuesday morning while at a stop station five and a half hours outside of Moldova, Racheal Diyaolu said they are still trying to figure out whether they will head straight to Moldova as planned, or to Romania.
“We’re still trying to figure out what the best option is," she said.
Describing how it feels to be so close to getting home after so long in Ukraine, she said it is “surreal”, particularly since they have been travelling and on the road for so long.
However, as they reach the final hours of the journey, "spirits are high", as she knows that she "should be able to get home".
When she arrives in either Moldova or Romania, the hope is to then go home to Ireland.
While on the long journey from Sumy, she has been checking in with her family in Carlow who are looking forward to getting her back on Irish soil.
Speaking on Monday afternoon, Ms Diyaolu said they were “on the road” thanks to their rescuers.
She seemed calm and relieved to be travelling out of danger. At that point, they were heading towards the border with Poland in the west, which is where they had originally planned to go.
She said she had mixed emotions about leaving friends behind in Sumy, however, as many foreign students have not been able to get out yet.
“My mother is very pleased but she is on edge and won’t be happy until I get home,” she said.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling because it is just so disheartening that so many students are still trapped.”
On Monday night, in a video posted to her sister Christiana’s social media page, Ms Diyaolu said they were planning to head to Moldova.
They plan to arrive either in Moldova or Romania on Tuesday, and “hopefully get back home soon” after that, she said.
Christiana appealed on her sister’s behalf to Simon Coveney, minister for foreign affairs, asking for help at the Moldovan border or transfers to Romania for the group.
She also said she was “beyond grateful” that her sister was on the way to safety.
She wrote on social media in praise of how her sister is coping with the incredibly stressful situation.
“Her ability to stay calm in such a stressful situation! If it was me, I’d be in tears everyday. I don’t understand how she does it! I’m a super super proud big sister! So close to having her home,” she said.
The two volunteer drivers work together in a landscaping business called Ready2Rock, and have been charting their rescue journeys on TikTok and Facebook live.
Joe McCarthy (55) and Gary Taylor (45) made their evacuation dash on Monday morning when they picked up seven people including Ms Diyalolu and four Ukrainians.
This dangerous run came more than a week after all public transport out of Sumy was cancelled, leaving an estimated 1,500 to 1,700 foreign students stranded. More than 700 are Indian pupils, with an estimated 400 from Nigeria.
One student interviewed by Indian TV on Friday begged for immediate help, and confirmed they were running out of food and water. “Please take some immediate action or else we will die for sure,” she said.
The two Scots have become heroes at home after putting their own lives at risk by going to Sumy, which is just 40km from the Russian border and has been out of reach of any international rescue mission.
“We had guns pointed to our heads, a tank’s sniper pointed at us, our front tyres shot at and our van ransacked, but locals helped us and took us to a garage, got us new tyres and showed us a back road to Sumy,” McCarthy said on Monday.
“After a good night’s rest, we got everyone and left. To be honest, we had a miserable day yesterday getting to Sumy, but we are out now and 240km away. Our objective today was to get as far away as possible, stay overnight in a hotel and get to the border tomorrow.”
Mr McCarthy said the journey to Sumy was “mission impossible” but “worth it”.
Joseph McCarthy and Gary Taylor told the they plan to keep on rescuing people until their money runs out.
The pair set up a GoFundMe page to fundraise for their efforts. In just over two weeks, they have managed to meet their funding target almost twice over.
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