Woman leaves her south Wales home to make petrol bombs with her family in Ukraine as her ex-Royal Marine husband prepares to take up arms against Putin’s tanks
- Sabina and Michael Jenkins were living in Llanelli before a planned move to US
- Sabina went back to her native Ukraine to sort paperwork when Russia invaded
- Sought refuge in her grandmother’s basement where they made petrol bombs
- Michael is in Buffalo, New York, but is planning to return to Ukraine next week
- He said his priority is his family’s safety before he turns to fighting the Russians
A woman left her south Wales home to make petrol bombs with her family in Ukraine while her ex-Royal Marine husband is preparing to take up arms to fight against Vladimir Putin’s tanks.
Sabina Jenkins and her husband Michael had been living about 50 yards from the sea in Llanelli until a few weeks ago before a planned move to the US.
Michael, a soldier and engineer originally from Ringland, Newport, went out there to get the move started while Sabina returned home to her native Ukraine and moved in with her grandmother to sort out paperwork ahead of their move.
But then Russia invaded, forcing Sabina, her mother Oksana and her grandmother Larysa into the basement of the house a couple of hours south of Kyiv where they have been making petrol bombs to help defend their country.
Michael, who met Sabina while he was stationed in the Ukraine with the Marines as a machine gunner, plans to return to the country in the next week and said his priority is ensuring the safety of his family, before turning his attention to fighting the Russians as a ‘voluntary soldier’.
Michael and Sabina Jenkins met while Michael was stationed in the Ukraine with the marines as a machine gunner. They were living in Llanelli until a few weeks ago but now they are preparing to defend Ukraine
Sabina said she thinks almost all households are making petrol bombs after Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence issued graphics explaining how to launch them at approaching tanks.
She said the petrol bombs she and her family have been making have rope attached to them and a film wrapped tightly around the top ready to explode on impact.
In a video call, Sabina revealed their homemade bunker, complete with a log fire, beds and jars of essentials, and said: ‘It’s my granny’s basement, but we’ve made it into a shelter.
‘My grandmother has made these [petrol bombs] before. But I have never made these in my life. I never thought I would need to make them.’
Sabina thinks she and her family will be forced to use the home-made petrol bombs.
‘We have been told we must be ready, we must be ready for anything’, she said.
‘We must be ready for the worst case scenario.’
Sabina said she and her family have had the chance to leave the country and still do but Larysa has spent her life in Ukraine and wants to defend it.
‘I can’t imagine leaving like this, no,’ said Sabina.
‘No, it’s my family. My gran is here and I grew up here as a kid. If I leave, then what?
‘Of course, I don’t feel safe. Who feels safe in a war? But we will stay here and stand up for our land.’
Ahead of returning to Ukraine, Michael said he has not given up on trying to move his family to a safer place, even if they remain within the country.
He said he wants to ensure their safety before using his experience fighting around the world with the British Army, including in Ukraine against Russia, to help repel Vladimir Putin’s troops.
He said: ‘This could be a huge war.
‘The worst one I think I’ll experience by far. Ukraine is going to fight until the end and Russia has made it very clear of their intentions.
‘I think when the worst does come NATO can’t stand by and let that happen. And where does that leave us?
‘My major concern and worry now is that I’m going to get to Ukraine too late for Sabina and her family.
‘I need to get there and make sure they are safe, and then I’ll fight with the voluntary battalion for as long as I’m needed.
‘I have very bad anxiety, like something churning in my stomach. It’s not so much anger but pure worry that I am here and they are there.’
Sabina said she cannot comprehend the ‘hate between Ukraine and Russia’ now.
‘None of us expected this’, she said.
‘Maybe in Donbass or Luhansk, but not here.
‘We never expected Putin would do this to the ordinary people. Ukraine and Russia were brothers, now people have so much hate for each other. I have no words for it.
‘A lot of people are dying and Russian people are being told on TV that people in Ukraine are happy to see them [Russian soldiers]. It is totally wrong and not true.’
Sabina’s grandmother Larysa holding one of the petrol bombs she made in the basement of her house a couple of hour south of Kyiv
Michael said he has been overwhelmed by the generosity of people he has met in western Europe and the US, particularly from those who donated money to help him and his family fly back to the Ukraine.
He added: ‘I came [to the US] and spent all the savings I had building this new life for us. I just felt completely helpless because I’ve been trying to get to Ukraine but couldn’t.
‘I have had people sending me money from all over the world who I don’t even know.
‘It’s not just me, seeing the clothes and donations being sent from the UK too makes me really proud of my country right now.
‘I just want to say a massive thank you to anyone who has helped my family financially or emotionally.’
He said he is worried to hear about people planning to go to Ukraine without combat experience and said he has received ‘hundreds of calls’ from people asking him whether they should join the Ukraine war effort.
He added: ‘I am really concerned. It is not a good idea to go there with little to no combat experience.
‘I would highly suggest staying at home or doing something logistically to contribute, which would really help.
‘I am not joking when I say I must have had 500 people come to me over the last few days saying they’re thinking about fighting.
‘Eighty per cent of them have no experience of war. There is no glory or romance about this.’
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