Brit dad reunited with wife and baby in war-torn Ukraine with ‘tea in hand’

A British dad has been reunited with his wife and son after launching a daring rescue mission to reach them in Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion.

28-year-old Ian Umney, from St Helens, Merseyside, had been an English teacher and a courier but left his job in a desperate bid to reach his Ukrainian wife Nelia and son Jonathan, two.

Speaking on a TikTok video, Ian said last week: "I cannot sit here, while my wife and son are in Ukraine, and watch the freedom and safety of Ukraine be threatened by Putin.

"I took four days of stress, upset, hurt, and anger but now I have packed my bag, planned, written my letters.

"I’m now on the way to reunite with my family by whatever means."

He went viral after news of his rescue attempt spread, and on Sunday he flew from Manchester to Krakow, Poland, before crossing the Ukrainian border in the early hours of Monday.

Ian then made the 500 mile train journey from Lviv to Nikopol, eventually announcing on Tuesday that he had been reunited with his beloved family at around 2pm local time.

“I made it to my family… tea in hand,” Ian posted on the instant messaging service Telegram.

He said he would offer a further update soon but “needs to collect a few things”.

Ian has been sharing videos of his progress on TikTok, garnering hundreds of thousands of views.

“People have commented how I’m being selfless and a hero but I’m not, I’m just a husband and a father,” he said.

Asked what he will do when he gets to his family, Ian explained: “I’m not really sure… I’m leaning towards getting my family out but the journey to do that is a bit dangerous at the moment.

“We’re going to have to come to a decision about what’s best for us and our family.”

Ian met Nelia in 2016, later marrying her, but had to return to the UK for work.

He plans to apply for a spouse visa when they decide to return to the UK.

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