People lining up to find space on trains headed out of Kharkiv in Ukraine. Photo / Supplied
People lining up to find space on trains headed out of Kharkiv in Ukraine. Photo / Supplied
''Infuriating, disrespectful, and an appalling situation."
This is how a Tauranga man who spent six years doing missionary work in Ukraine describes Russia offering to open passageways for war victims to flee but only if they agree to cross into Russia or Belarus.
Otumoetai Church of Christ pastor DavidNelson has spoken out after New Zealand passed a law to expand sanctions on Russia and those complicit in the invasion.
The invasion has resulted in almost universal condemnation worldwide and more than 1.7 million people have fled Ukraine.
"I'm infuriated that Russia has offered to open passageways to allow some of those fleeing to escape Ukraine but only if they agree to cross into Russia or Belarus,'' Nelson told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend.
"Taking up the offer will only mean these refugees would find themselves in enemy territory which is not safe ... It's so infuriating, disrespectful, and an appalling situation," he said.
"It's wintertime in Ukraine and many people have no heating, power or water supplies, and food is getting scarce. They feel so isolated. People really need our help and support.''
Otumoetai Church of Christ pastor David Nelson. Photo / NZME
Nelson and his wife undertook missionary work in Kharkiv near the eastern border with Russia from 2008 to 2014 and still have friends there and in other parts of Ukraine.
"I have seen image after image and video after video of the massive destruction, including people's homes, businesses, houses of culture, and street after street is decimated.''
He said people left homeless were hiding in underground metro stations and thousands were lining up on the platforms of the main train station desperate for a seat to safety.
Nelson said the passing of the sanctions was "excellent" because it sent a clear message to Russian president Vladimir Putin on where New Zealand stood.
The law allows the Government to sanction people, companies and assets responsible for the invasion or that are of "economic or strategic relevance" to Russia.
But Nelson also wanted the fast-tracking of entry visas as part of our country's humanitarian response.
"During the past couple of days, I have been talking to people in Ukraine and it's so difficult for them to know what to do next, especially given Putin's nuclear threats."
Nelson said besieged Mariupol was getting "hammered" not only with mortar fire and missile strikes but people had been denied basic daily needs.
Fleeing people were fearful and uncertain whether they will ever be able to return.
"Many are having to make the hard and heart-breaking decision to leave family members behind including lots of elderly people who don't want to leave their homes," he said.
Michael Foster and his Ukrainian fiancée ,Anna Kaplina. Photo / NZME
Among those who have fled to Poland are Mount Maunganui man Michael Foster's Ukrainian fiancée, Anna Kaplina, and her two children.
On March 4, Kaplina and the children left Poltava in central Ukraine on a train headed for Chelm in Poland.
Foster said after 20 hours on a train standing up the entire way, an exhausted Kaplina and her children made it to the village of Lviv, about 70km from the Polish border.
They were originally going to catch a connecting train from Lviv to Chelm but a local bus driver known to friends of Kaplina's mother drove them there in a repurposed bus, and Anna and her children made their way to Warsaw, he said.
"Anna is now staying in a hotel for a few days until she can find somewhere else to live,'' he said.
"The trouble is more than one-and-half-million people have fled Ukraine, and many who have ended up in Poland as well, and are also trying to find somewhere safe to live."
Foster said he was counting the days to March 20 when he was due to fly out to join Kaplina and her children in Warsaw.
But he did a Rapid Covid-19 test on Wednesday and it was positive. He was now self-isolating at home with his mother.
It was the "worst" news but he was determined to be well enough to fly on March 20, and he and Kaplina were " soldiering on" with their plans as best they could.
