“From hopefulness to hopelessness in a matter of minutes.”
The family of Rachael Diyaolu, a young Carlow medical student stuck in Ukraine, have expressed their feelings of “hopelessness” after a mission intended to rescue her appears to have failed.
The 19-year-old is in the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine where she had been studying medicine.
Two British volunteers were due to collect Rachael and other students on Sunday (6 March), but they had to abandon the mission after Russian troops shot at their van.
It’s understood that the volunteers made it out safely.
Speaking to Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio 1 while travelling in a car on Monday, Diyaolu said she is trying to remain in good spirits while trying to return home.
She noted that the situation has worsened in recent days and she has to leave friends behind in order to proceed with her latest evacuation attempt.
Diyaolu has issued a plea to the Irish government to help with the evacuation mission.
She is among 1,700 international students who have been unable to leave Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.
Diyaolu’s sister, Christiana, took to Twitter to describe her sister’s situation as a “nightmare”.
She wrote:
“From hopefulness to hopelessness in a matter of minutes. I wouldn’t wish this nightmare on my worst enemy, honest to God.”
From hopefulness to hopelessness in a matter of minutes. I wouldn’t wish this nightmare on my worst enemy, honest to God. There’s still hundreds of students trapped in Sumy, 3 of them 🇮🇪. It’s been 10 days.. no improvements?? @dfatirl @simoncoveney @LeoVaradkar @MichealMartinTD
— 𝙿𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊 (@PrincxssTiana) March 6, 2022
As of Monday morning, Russian forces have announced the establishment of humanitarian corridors across Ukraine, though doubt surrounds their validity following reports of previous ceasefire violations.
In his latest address, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky vowed revenge upon Russian forces, insisting that mercy is not an option.
“We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will punish everyone who committed atrocities in this war on our land,” he said.
“We will find every bastard who shot at our cities, our people, who bombed our land, who launched rockets.
“There will be no quiet place on this earth for you – except for the grave.”
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