Maksym (Max) Yershov, Ukrainian Navy, attended Britannia Royal Navy College, Dartmouth, UK from September 2000 (pre-BRNC course) until he passed out in December 2001. For that final term, he was Senior International Cadet due to his outstanding reputation and achievements. Max and his family (wife and five daughters) had to flee their home in Sevastopol in 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea. Like so many of his Ukrainian Navy colleagues, he had to leave his parents and wider family members behind in Crimea and rebuild their lives in Odessa. Now the same has happened again.

Max has since left the Ukrainian Navy and was in the early stages of the next stage of his career in Odessa. That is now all in tatters. There is a plan in action to get Max and his family to safety in Ireland due to the lifting of the Irish visa restrictions. He does not qualify for the UK's scheme as he has no family in the UK nor a sponsorship offer.

Max and his family do not know what lies ahead. Any financial support that you can offer to help them with travel and accommodation costs in their forced relocation to a new country would be greatly appreciated.