A UKRAINIAN woman living locally is begging for help to get her only daughter out of her war-torn homeland.

Viktoriia Mykhailova from Inverkip told the News of her desperation to rescue 37-year-old daughter Dina, who is all alone in the south eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, surrounded by the Russian army.

The 61-year-old and her husband, Bill Wyllie, are frantically trying to find a safe escape route for Dina, who is a lawyer and lecturer in the city close to the nuclear power plant seized by Vladimir Putin's forces last week.

But with uncertainty surrounding her visa they fear it will be too dangerous to move out of the city, with no safe passage to the Polish border.

Viktoriia said: "My daughter is so brave but she is on her own and it is not safe.

"We are very scared for her.

"She lives in an apartment block with 15 flats but there are only five families left there now, everyone has gone.

"The city is still under Ukrainian control but they are surrounded by Russians.

"Every time an air raid siren goes off she has to make her way to the cellar and put herself against the strongest wall.

"There is also a curfew, she is not allowed to leave her home after 7pm.

"She is still even going to work some days but it is far from where she lives and public transport is difficult.

"There are only two trains out of Zaporizhzhia every day and the scenes at the station are horrific - everyone is desperate to get on those trains.

"It is two days in normal times to get to Lviv or even to Poland, but will take much longer now.

"She can't travel in a car because you don't know what she will come across on her way."

Since the invasion started almost two weeks ago, Viktoriia and her husband, a retired intensive care nurse at IRH and former Royal Navy submariner, have been frantically trying to get help from the Home Office to get Dina a visa to come to the UK.

Dina, whose south eastern city lies on the River Dnieper, came to Inverkip to visit her mum and step-dad last November but her visa expired in December.

Bill, 66, said: "The situation keeps changing, every time I phone I am told something different.

"We were told Dina would have to make the visa application herself, in person.

"We have tried to go online, but it is so complicated.

"She was here in November, so they have all her details - it should be straightforward.

"It is too dangerous to stay and too dangerous to go and even if Dina leaves she would have to go to Lviv or Poland to get a visa.

"If she was try for Turkey we don't know if she would get help."

Viktoriia feels heartbroken watching her 'beautiful' country torn apart, putting her daughter's life in danger.

She said: "I never, ever thought it would come to this - that in the 21st century this could happen.

"We need it to stop right now.

"Where I come from in my region of Zaporizhzhia we speak Russian and we speak Ukrainian.

"I am so proud right now of my country, my city and how we fight. Ukraine is alone and we need more help.

"I really hope NATO set up a no-fly zone to protect civilians like my daughter."

In November Viktoriia lost her mother Tamara, who stayed with her daughter, and she was thrilled when Dina came to visit them for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.

The Inverkip couple met in Kyiv in 2008, fell in love and married a year later.

They have been overwhelmed by messages of support from friends and family since the outbreak of war.

Viktoriia, a fully qualified former taxation lawyer who studied at Kharkiv University, went to college learn English when she moved to Scotland.

Born and brought up in southern Ukraine under Soviet rule, Viktoriia lived with her parents, dad Pavee, a police officer from Russia and mum Tamara, a Ukrainian lawyer, and younger brother Alexander, in the town of Vasyeivka in region of Zaporizhzhia.

The couple have contacted Inverclyde MP Ronnie Cowan for help and he has taken up their case.

Mr Cowan said: "Viktoriia and Bill have every right to expect Dina to be able to join them here in Inverclyde.

"They are a family and should be entitled to everything that families here often take for granted, such as safety, peace and security.

"The UK Government needs to honour its pledge to allow Ukrainian refugees to join their families here forthwith and without delay.

"We need a clear undertaking from government that Dina will be welcomed here without recourse to visa issues, applications or paperwork.

"That part can wait.

"The choice being face by Ukrainians of whether to stay or go is the stuff of nightmares.

"It needs to be clear to Dina and her family that if she embarks on a dangerous journey through Ukraine to the EU border, she can travel on and will be welcomed here in the UK.

"The relief effort here in Inverclyde has been fantastic.

"Now the UK Government must step up - I will hold them to account on this."