There was joy at Dublin Airport on Thursday night as Irish student Racheal Diyaolu arrived home after fleeing the war in Ukraine.
The 19-year-old had been studying medicine in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy when war broke out, and has been attempting to get home to Carlow since.
After she was reunited with her family at the airport late last night after flying from Frankfurt, her sister Christiana tweeted: “After 15 sleepless nights and buckets of tears, my family and I are at peace knowing she’s home and safe.
“A sincere Thank You to everyone for all the love, prayers and support shown to us.”
*Final Update* RACHEAL IS FINALLY HOME. 🇮🇪She arrived super late @ 11pm last night. After 15 sleepless nights and buckets of tears, my family and I are at peace knowing she’s home and safe. A sincere Thank You to everyone for all the love, prayers and support shown to us🤍. (1/3) https://t.co/9ajuzssd8c
— 𝙿𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊 (@PrincxssTiana) March 11, 2022
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Speaking to RTÉ at the airport, Racheal said she was “really overwhelmed but really happy.”
“It’s good to be home, really happy to be home. I can’t even explain it – I’ve been away for so long and obviously in the circumstances it’s been very scary, and I didn’t know when I’d get to get home so I’m just really happy to be back and with everyone again,” she said.
On Wednesday, Christiana confirmed Racheal had reached a European Union border in Ukraine following a dramatic rescue.
Racheal began an attempted journey to Poland on Monday, telling RTÉ radio’s Morning she was travelling with two Scottish men who had offered a lift to her as well as her friends.
A first attempt to get out of Sumy on Sunday failed when the two men could not reach the pickup point after they were fired on by Russian soldiers and punctured their tyres.
