He fought Stalin... now this Ukrainian hero doesn't know if his nephew has been killed in combat
05.03.2022 - 23:21
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Stockport's Ukrainian Club is alive with activity - and concern.
In one room, a child's birthday party is well underway.
Another room sees Ukrainians discussing the ongoing situation, each updating one another on how their families are doing.
Another group is ferrying donations up and down the stairs.
Amidst all of this is Iwan Kluka.
He's surprisingly mobile for a 98-year-old and is keen to be involved with the discussions.
If anyone knows the terrible costs of war in the region, it's Iwan.
He fought against Stalin's Red Army as it took the country in the Second World War.
Iwan was one of the lucky ones, being given refuge by the British Army in Glossop shortly after the end of the war.
He tells the Manchester Evening News that 30,000 of his fellow volunteer soldiers were executed by the Soviets after the fall of Berlin.
And now, he says, Russia's 'inhumane' invasion might have claimed the life of his nephew.
"It's terrible," he says, pausing for thought.
"I live here, but in my heart I am Ukrainian - that's my country.
"What Putin is doing is unbelievable. It's inhumane.
"What I experienced [in the 1940s]... to see those atrocities… they just don’t have any feeling for the human being."
For Iwan, the war is not just a distressing attack on his homeland which he fought for.
It's also an attack on his family.
"I had a nephew in Kharkiv," he explains.
"It fell.
"He was fighting, I think I have lost him. I cannot get in touch with him.
"I don’t know [if he is alive]."
Iwan also does not know how his niece is doing.
He adds: "She’s in southern Ukraine. She was alright when I rang her a week ago.
"I do not know how she is today. There's no answer.
"I feel terrible."
Iwan isn't alone at the club.
Luba Brown's family have