A hospital adviser fighting to get two Ukrainian teenagers shipped to the UK without their parents said the situation was “heartbreaking”.
Worcester-based Dr. Catherine Hillman wants to take care of two doctors’ children so they can keep working.
Her parents have obtained power of attorney for the couple, but the Home Office said it would refuse entry.
Only under-18s who reunite with a parent or guardian are eligible due to protection concerns, it said.
However, the government is understood to be exploring ways to bring more children safely to the UK.
dr Hillman, who works at Worcester Royal Hospital, has spent months trying to get Daria and Ivan out of Kyiv through the Homes for Ukraine program and said the children were at greater risk if they stayed in the war-torn country.
“There is real concern that this will result in needless harm or, dare I say it, loss of life of a child,” said Dr. Hillman.
“They live in a downtown apartment in Kyiv with no basement and use an interior corridor as a shelter.”
dr Hillman and her parents, Graham and Francine Hillman, know 15-year-old Daria and 14-year-old Ivan and their families from the international medical community.
Daria and Ivan’s mothers are doctors in Ukraine and have to stay and work. They also have elderly parents to take care of.
The teenagers have no other family members to travel with them as Daria’s father, a lawyer, has to stay with her 18-year-old brother.
Ivan’s father died in 2012 and his sister wants to stay and help in Ukraine.
Both teenagers’ visa applications were sent out in April, the forms were received but communications have stopped.
dr Hillman and her parents, Graham and Francine Hillman, have asked their MPs and Lord Richard Harrington, the Secretary of State for Refugees, for help but say they have received no response.
Speaking to BBC Hereford and Worcester, Daria said: “I’m really worried about the situation in Ukraine, I really want to go to the UK and I’m worried about my family as they will stay here.
“I’m disappointed with that,” she added.
The teenagers have secured a place at Cheltenham College and Dr. Hillman’s childhood home in Essex, where the children would live away from college, is said to have been inspected by both social services and the Homes for Ukraine program.
“The teenagers will never be unaccompanied as their parents will take them to the Polish border where we will meet them,” she said.
dr Hillman originally asked the Home Office if the teenagers could come to the UK on a scholarship visa as they had a place at university, but the Home Office was told applications had to be made through Homes for Ukraine.
An Interior Ministry spokesman said: “It is tragic that children have become involved in Putin’s war.
“The safety and well-being of children is paramount and we have worked with councils throughout the program to ensure robust protection processes are in place.
“For this reason, only under 18s reuniting with a parent or legal guardian in the UK are currently eligible for Homes for Ukraine, but as we have always said we are keeping an eye on eligibility for all of our programmes.”
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