Ukrainian journalist on Russian ‘kill list’ granted visa to live with partner in Manchester

A Ukrainian journalist who said her name was on a Russian ‘kill list’ has been granted a UK visa to live in Manchester with her partner.

Maria Romanenko and her Mancunian boyfriend Jeremy Myers were forced to flee Kyiv as Russian forces began a full-scale invasion of the country, with them embarking upon a ‘terrifying’ twenty-three hour journey to a friend’s house in Warsaw, Poland.

Maria said they chose to leave her homeland because of her profession as a journalist and the Russian government’s so-called ‘kill list’.

While Jeremy holds British citizenship, he had previously told Granada Reports that he wouldn’t be returning to Manchester unless he could bring Maria with him. 

And now, over a week on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Maria has been granted a UK visa and travelled to Manchester on a RyanAir flight from Poland yesterday evening. 

Maria took to Twitter to share her joy of being accepted to reside in the UK, writing: “Overjoyed to say that I have received a visa waiver and will fly to Manchester later today. Thank you for all your kinds words, messages, and support.”

She went on to thanks all the media organisations that had covered and shared her story, as well as ‘Angela from @GwynneMP’s office’ and Denton and Reddish MP Andrew Gwynne, who had been working at the British embassy in Warsaw.

Despite his joy at Maria’s visa success, Jeremy has described the UK’s initial reaction to granting Ukrainian people visas as ‘weak’, and has called on the government to ‘do a lot more’ to help those fleeing the country.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that immediate family members will be able to join Ukrainians settled in the UK following a relaxation of visa requirements.

According to the Gov.uk website, this includes parents, grandparents, adult children and siblings from Ukraine, as well as immediate family members.

Immediate family members are defined as a spouse or civil partner, an unmarried partner who the person has lived with in a relationship for at least two years, a parent if the person is under the age of eighteen, or a child under the age of eighteen.

However, the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has hinted that further measures could be announced soon.