Refugee medics want to use skills to repay Irish people for kindness

The letters put on the back of Nikolai Sykal's car that spell "children" to highlight to Russian soldiers that there are children on board.

Two Ukrainian medical doctors who spent eight days with their children underground escaping missile fire want to use their skills to thank Irish people for their hospitality when they arrive this weekend. 

Nikolai Sykal, his wife Vicka and her sister and four children are due to arrive on Saturday after fleeing the embattled city of Kharkiv. They will be met by his half-sister, Iryna Sykal Byrne, who has lived in Ireland for the last 20 years.