British-Iraqi mother's delight at reunion with Ukrainian friend after hunger strike

A British-Iraqi woman, who spent 21 days on hunger strike to obtain a visa for the UK for her Ukrainian best friend, has spoken of her joy and disbelief after their reunion.

Rend Platings welcomed Kristina Korniiuk to her home in Cambridge on Sunday, exactly a month after she resorted to hunger striking in an attempt to speed up the visa application under the government’s Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme.

The mother-of-one had lost 10 kilograms while not eating for three weeks, before her friend was granted permission to enter Britain.

“I’m very happy, it was a bit surreal,” Mrs Platings told The National.

“[It's a case of] relief and disbelief. Disbelief in the sense like, 'wow, she’s actually here, I can’t believe it and that she’s managed to make her way safely'.

“There are a lot of concerns because she’s a woman travelling on her own; what if she meets the wrong people on the way? You hear horrible stories. So it’s really good to know that she’s safe and that takes a big weight off all of our minds because we’re family friends.

“My husband was really worried about her as well. In fact, he was sick with worry about the idea of her driving out of Kyiv. It’s just been a relief for everyone.”

Mrs Platings’ husband picked Ms Korniiuk up from Luton Airport on Sunday. He then drove her to the family home in Cambridge, which has been painted in the Ukrainian national colours in a show of solidarity with Ukrainians.

Mrs Platings, who is director of charities Mums4Ukraine and Sugarwise, and her eight-year-old daughter Samantha greeted Ms Korniiuk with hugs outside the house.

“After Kristina was in bed, my daughter asked if she was dreaming that Kristina was here,” Mrs Platings said.

“It’s a big worry when people are in Ukraine and of course Kristina still has family there, and this continues to be a worry that we can’t really predict what’s going to happen to people there. Nowhere in Ukraine is really safe.”

Mrs Platings first met Ms Kornuiiuk, 34, in a cafe during a visit to Kyiv in 2019.

Ms Korniuuk is originally from the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, but had been living in Kyiv and working as a Spanish teacher when Russia invaded in February.

After spending three weeks in the capital following the invasion, she decided to move to the west of the country to be safer.

Her parents, grandfather and other family members are still in Kyiv, while her brother is working for the military.

She said her parents wanted to remain in their homeland, despite the risks.

As she settles into her new life in the UK, she hopes to reach out to fellow Ukrainians and use her skills to help younger generations.

“I have this idea to maybe organise workshops and some readings for Ukrainian kids to give their mothers some spare time and also to do something fun and useful with Ukrainian kids. It would be really nice,” she told The National.

Asked how she reacted to the news that her friend had gone on hunger strike for her visa, she said she felt “very thankful” for her mammoth effort.

“I was a bit worried about her, because it’s not a very healthy thing to do and I was impressed and on the other hand."

Mrs Platings said she hopes the war will end soon and her friend can return to her homeland, which she plans to visit.

Throughout her hunger strike, she suffered from vomiting, dizziness and weakness. “I could barely walk down two steps and felt like I was going to collapse. I could not stay in the playground and watch my daughter.”

“I just thought about how lucky I was. I had access to clean water, I did not have to worry about being raped or bombed. I kind of had it easy compared to a lot of people.

“When people looked at me and thought, 'are you going to be ok?', I wanted them to think about those people who are waiting for visas and if they going to be ok.”

After three weeks, her body grew so weak from lack of nutrition that she was unable to attend a protest against Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Days later she received the news that the application she had made to bring her friend to the UK had been granted, which prompted her to end her hunger strike.

In the early days of the war, the UK government’s scheme for Ukrainian refugees to come to Britain was heavily criticised due to the bureaucracies applicants have to navigate and the slow pace of applications.

The latest government figures show 117,600 Ukrainians have applied for visas, with 86,100 being issued.

Ukraine war - in pictures