Ambassador to Ireland reveals parents will not leave Ukraine

Larysa Gerasko, Ukrainian ambassador to Ireland: 'I am very worried about my parents, but they have refused to leave and come and live with me.'
Picture: Colin Keegan/ Collins Dublin

The Ukrainian Ambassador to Ireland has been told by her mother she is prepared to die in the war-torn country.

Russian troops are advancing on the area where they live but despite pleas by Larysa Gerasko, her 74-year-old mother is refusing to leave.

Their home is near the Chernihiv regional town of Pryluky, not far from the borders of both Belarus and the Russian Federation.

Within the past week, news agencies were reporting that Russian troops had started circling and taking control of villages and towns northeast of Kyiv as part of their advance on the capital.

And while they were about 50km away from Pryluky — home to Ukraine’s largest airfield, Pryluky air base — at the time, reports in the past 24 hours have appeared with photos of destroyed or captured Russian rocket launchers and tanks near the town.

Ms Gerasko told the Irish Examiner: “Russian military shells our town and tries to take control over the town on a regular basis.

“My mom told me [on Tuesday] that the night [before] was quiet but the night before that was not quiet.

“I'm keeping contact with my family and my uncle told me the other morning his village was shelled by the Russian military and that there was a huge battle in the region overnight.

“I am very worried about my parents, but they have refused to leave and come and live with me.

“I have asked them repeatedly, but they do not want to leave.” 

She added: 

I couldn't explain because, the Ukrainians? We have very strong connections with our soil, with our country and I will say this our soil, you know, it is our land.

“My parents are over 70 and it's their soil, it's their land and it's a place where they were born.

“They couldn't even imagine how to leave their country, to leave their place.

“It's some strong connection, a spiritual connection, I would say.” 

Asked if she was worried her 74-year-old parents, Halyna and Anatoly, are now prepared to die, she paused, took a deep breath, and replied: “Yes.” After a moment of silence, she continued: 

“My mom actually told me directly ‘this place where we were born in, we will die here’.

“It's their position.

“Believe me, it's very hard to accept my parents' position.

And for me, it's very hard to be here and too far from them because I cannot do anything to help them.

“I have relatives to the south, so in case of emergencies, they will help them of course . . . if they can.” 

Added to her heartache is the fact that her 41-year-old brother Alexander is in Kyiv and is expecting to be conscripted into the Ukrainian Army.

His wife and son have already been taken to Poland, but he remains in the capital city, waiting for the Russian advance.

“He's ready to fight,” she added.

Asked what she would do if she was still in Ukraine, she said: “I'm not sure I would leave the country either.

“I think I would most probably do the same as my parents and stay, even if it meant dying there.”