Nicola Sturgeon has welcomed dozens of Ukrainian orphans who have arrived safely in Scotland.
Fifty-four children, including a one-year-old and a two-year-old, landed at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday 23 March from Warsaw in Poland, after being evacuated from war-torn Ukraine a week ago.
The children, who come from five different orphanages in Ukraine, have since been taken to Scotland with seven legal guardians where they will be temporarily accommodated.
This includes a number from Dnipro Kids, a charity set up by Perth-based Steven Carr after he travelled with his fellow Hibs supporters to a football match in the city of Dnipro in 2005.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted to welcome the children to Scotland.
She said: “A warm welcome to Scotland Dnipro Kids – I know you’d all rather be at home in Ukraine but you’ll find love, care and support here for as long as you need it.”
A warm welcome to Scotland @DniproKids – I know you’d all rather be at home in Ukraine but you’ll find love, care and support here for as long as you need it. 🇺🇦🏴 https://t.co/UxkwzL1jdN
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) March 24, 2022
‘Everybody was clapping’
The operation to evacuate the orphans was a combined effort from charities Magen David Adom UK, Save A Child and Dnipro Kids.
Sally Becker, founder of Save A Child, said the children on board the flight to Heathrow clapped and cheered when the plane touched down.
She said: “Everybody was clapping.
“First of all they looked out the windows and they could see the lights.
“And I was saying ‘it’s London, it’s London!’ and they were just looking completely amazed because of course they’ve never flown before, and it really did look like jewels in the night.
“And as it touched down they all started to clap.
“But not like people clap on an ordinary flight which sometimes happens, this was 61 of them all clapping and cheering, and they were so happy.”
She added: “The main thing is they’re here, they have sanctuary, temporary sanctuary, and they’re safe.
“But thousands more [are] left behind – I don’t just mean necessarily orphans, although there are orphans, but ordinary children, children who are being shelled, who are being shot at, and I just hope that we’ll be able to help a lot more children.”
‘Deeply emotional moment’
Other politicians have also extended their welcomes to the Dnipro Kids.
Ian Blackford MP, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said: “This is a deeply emotional moment for everyone involved as the Dnipro Kids finally arrive in Scotland, where they will be safe, secure and well looked-after.
“As delighted as I am to see them reach sanctuary in Scotland, we all hope that this will be a temporary stay, and that peace will soon come to Ukraine so they can safely return as they wish.
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel also thanked her staff at the Home Office as well as the Ukrainian and Polish authorities, the Scottish Government and Virgin Atlantic, saying “the care they will receive will go some way to heal their suffering”.
52 children from @DniproKids have arrived in the UK to a safe & warm welcome. Huge thanks to my team @ukhomeoffice, the 🇺🇦 & 🇵🇱 authorities, @ScotGov & @VirginAtlantic who worked urgently on their swift arrival. The care they will receive will go some way to heal their suffering.
— Priti Patel (@pritipatel) March 23, 2022
The fuel for the Virgin Atlantic flight from Warsaw to Heathrow was donated by Esso Petroleum and the outward bound leg of the flight contained five tonnes of aid from Convoy of Hope.
Permission for the group to fly was granted by the Ukrainian and Polish governments and they will initially stay in Callander near Stirling.
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