Brisbane family fears for Ukrainian reporter Peter Dickinson forced to flee Kyiv in secret midnight escape

The Brisbane family of a Ukrainian journalist fears for his life after he and his daughters and wife locked up their Kyiv house in the middle of the night to flee to a mountain hideaway. WATCH THE VIDEO

A Brisbane family holds grave concerns for their nephew, a journalist in Kyiv, who was forced to flee his Ukraine home of 20 years with his wife and two daughters for a mountain bolthole.

Peter Dickinson and his family packed a bag each and, in the dark of night, drove into the mountains where they hid for three days before finding shelter.

Their whereabouts is still unknown but Mr Dickinson feared for his life after working on an outspoken magazine for ex-pats in the Ukrainian capital 15 years ago.

His Brisbane-based uncle Rod Shaw, said the last he had heard from his nephew was on February 23, a day before Vladimir Putin invaded with his Russian troops.

Women carry their belongings as they walk in a deserted street of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on March 1, 2022. Russian troops carried out an attack on the infrastructure of Ukraine's security services in Kyiv and urged residents living nearby to leave. Photo: SERGEI SUPINSKY AFP

Around 5am on February 24, Mr Putin announced a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine and minutes later, missiles began to rain down across Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv.

“Hi Uncle Rod! We left Kyiv as soon as the war began on Thursday morning and drove west. We’re now staying in a hotel high up in the mountains close to the EU border and feel safe.

“It has been an awful three days but we’re together and we will come through it together.”

Mr Dickinson has been an outspoken anti-Putin campaigner and had built a life with his Ukrainian wife Sana and daughters Liza, 10 and Nina 7.

He moved to Lviv when he was working for the British government as a trade officer in 2001, later transferring to Kyiv, where he also joined a local media outlet as a freelance reporter.

He was later approached by an Israeli businessman who bought an English-language newspaper to write articles.

Before war broke out, Mr Dickinson offered his services to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and the State Border Guard Service, which banned men aged from 18 to 60 from leaving the country.

However, he was told that his services as a reporter would be of greater use if he could keep the rest of the world informed about the war.

Mr Shaw said the family was also concerned for Mr Dickinson’s parents-in-law, who were not able to escape Kyiv and have not been heard of since Russian troops rolled into the country.

The wedding day of Ukrainian reporter Peter Dickinson and his now wife Sana. The Brisbane family of Ukrainian journalist Peter Dickinson fear for his life and that of his two daughters and wife after they were forced to lock up their Kyiv house and flee to a secret mountain bolthole in the middle of the night, as Russian troops rolled into their city.

“I visited Ukraine in 2006 for my nephew’s wedding and they showed me their large property and house, with the parents-in-law living on a block behind their house,” Mr Shaw said.

“Peter’s wife Sana is Armenian and only speaks Russian but was brought up in Kyiv.

“Peter told me he was not afraid for his life but said his daughters and wife were terrified as they had to lock up their house and walk away — possibly forever.”

Now Mr Dickinson’s family has been left waiting to hear from him after he sent out a cryptic message saying he was cutting all lines of usual communication as it could jeopardise his family’s lives.

Mr Dickinson is on record for claiming that the troops in Ukraine this week marked the “eighth anniversary” of Putin’s Ukraine War.

“It is vital to remind international audiences that Russia has already been waging war against Ukraine for the past eight years.”