Dad who flew family from UK to Ukraine for ski holiday forced to sign up to fight Russia

A dad who took his family on a skiing holiday to his native Ukraine has spoken of his fears that he could be drafted into the army to fight against the Russians

Tymofii Dmytrenko, 39, went with his wife and two children for the skiing trip, but claims he has now been put on standby to fight Russian forces following the invasion eight days ago.

The IT specialist, known as Tim, said he had originally left the UK for Kyiv on February 18, intending to hit the slopes and visit his parents during a ten-day visit.

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But after the family heard President Biden warning about the threat of invasion, they cut their holiday short and attempted to flee for the border.

Tim helped his wife Iryna, 36, and their two children, 11 and 15, get into neighbouring Slovakia, and the three of them have since made the journey back to the UK.

But he says he has been forced to sign up for the military and remains on hand to join the war. All Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are now required to stay and fight under martial law.

He said: “I think I am ready to serve my country, but I have mixed feelings. I have never held a gun or shot from it, and I don’t have any real military experience.

“I feel like without any proper training I’m kind of a meat bag at this moment in time, and this is worrying. I don’t know how these things will progress."

He added: “It’s still a shock to many people here. We still don’t understand that this can be happening in the middle of Europe, next to the European Union.

“We have parents living in Ukraine, and basically we usually combine leisure trips with seeing family and friends.

“We came to Kyiv on February 18 and spent two days there, and