THE FAMILY OF Irish medical student Racheal Diyaolu, who was living in the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine when the country was invaded, has said that she has reached the EU border.
Racheal’s sister Christiana said the 19-year-old reached the border this afternoon after four days of travelling.
In a tweet, Christiana said: “They’ve made it to an EU border! I could shout it from the hills!”
She said her sister was currently making her way into the EU, but said she would not share her current location until they made it through safely.
****UPDATE****THEY’VE MADE IT TO AN EU BORDER! I could shout it from the hills! They have made it to the border and are making their way through now. I’ve been told not to reveal their exact location yet, until they get to safety🎉 Next step ✈️Ireland🇮🇪.
— 𝙿𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊 (@PrincxssTiana) March 9, 2022
My face right now:😆
Racheal had been studying medicine at Sumy State University, 50 kilometres from the Russian border when Ukraine was invaded.
Speaking with The Journal last week while sheltering in her student accommodation, Racheal said her daily routine involved monitoring the military situation, keeping in communication with family and routine trips to her building’s bunker.
She began travelling to the border on Monday after being picked up by two Scottish volunteers who are attempting to get people out of the country.
The rescue attempt appeared to have failed over the weekend after the volunteers encountered hostile Russian soldiers on their way to collect people stranded in Sumy.
But the team successfully reached Racheal, along with others, on Monday and the mission resumed.
It was hoped the group would reach the border yesterday, but the car that they were travelling in suffered several punctures, which slowed their progress.
The group also had to stop overnight due to a curfew being in force locally.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland today, Christiana said the group were making good progress and that her sister felt safe. She said Ukrainian police had given the group a letter to help them pass through checkpoints.
“It’s been a long three days and we’re nearly at the end now, so it’s just the final stretch and hopefully she’ll be passed the border and back home to us soon,” she said.
Christiana also said that she hoped the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) could arrange something to help bring Racheal back to Ireland.
She previously told the programme that the family were first contacted by the DFA late on Monday night and were told that they would do their best to put arrangements in place to bring her home.
“Nothing has been set in stone. Nothing official has been passed on to us, but I’m assuming there will be some kind of travel arranged for her but we don’t know,” Christiana said.
The Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman told the same programme yesterday that Racheal will receive the “necessary support” she needs from the DFA to get back to Ireland.
“We and most European states have withdrawn our embassy staff from on the ground in Ukraine, but we still continue to be in touch with all Irish citizens,” said O’Gorman.
“We will provide Racheal with the support to leave Ukraine. One can only imagine what a stressful time it is for her sister and her entire family but we’ll provide that necessary support.”
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