Once more defending her
actions, a Ukrainian refugee who fled the country with her
adopted UK sponsor while staying with his family claims that she
“didn’t steal anyone” and that their connection is “real and wonderful.”
At the beginning of May,
Sofiia Karkadym, 22, left Lviv and moved in with Tony Garnett, 29, his wife
Lorna, and their two children in Bradford.
But after just ten
days, Mr. Garnett had already fallen in love with his new visitor and had moved
in with her at his parents’ house, leaving his partner for her.
Mr. Garnett claimed that he
has fallen in love and wants to be with Miss Karkadym forever.
Miss Karkadym outlined what
she believed to be a few relevant facts in a post on her Instagram account.
On Mr Garnett leaving his
wife, she it was the ‘conscious and considered decision of a 29-year-old
man who has the right to fall in love.’
She again denied that she
‘stole’ anyone and attacked the press coverage of the story which was
‘clearly exaggerated and written in such a way as to be as dramatic as
possible.’
‘Finally, I decided to write a
post about world-famous recent events,’ the Ukrainian IT manager wrote. The
first thing I want to say is that I did not steal anyone from the family. It
was his conscious and considered decision, the decision of a 29-year-old man
who has the right to fall in love, has the right to be happy and has the right
to choose who to be with.’
‘The second thing I want to
cover is the concept of the ‘yellow press’. Do you really think that someone
can be abducted from a happy family in 10 days? ‘Why so much attention to
my story, if it is clearly exaggerated and written in such a way as to be
as dramatic as possible?
‘Anthony and I are fine. Therefore,
those who supported me from the very beginning and knew that behind any of my
actions there is something real and wonderful – thank you. The rest – you will
be disappointed in your judgements ;)’
Miss Karkadym had previously
insisted she was not to blame for the breakdown of her sponsors’ relationship,
telling The Sun: ‘That never crossed my mind. I liked the family. I spent
a lot of time with Lorna and I tried to help her. But she was two-faced.
‘Her constant suspicions, the
tension, it just pushed me and Tony closer together. She created this situation
by constantly suggesting something was going on when it wasn’t. So this is her
fault.’
Jilted mother Lorna Garnett
said she was left heartbroken after her husband decided to leave her for their
guest.
Speaking to the Sun on
Sunday, Mrs. Garnett said she believes Miss Karkadym ‘set her sights on Anthony
from the start, decided she wanted him and she took him’.
She added: ‘She didn’t care
about the devastation that was left behind. Everything I knew has been turned
on its head in the space of two weeks.’
Mrs. Garnett told the
newspaper she had reservations about the scheme but felt it was the right thing
to do after seeing the ‘terrifying’ situation in Ukraine on the news.
She said: ‘I decided it was
the right thing to do to put a roof over someone’s head and help them when they
were in desperate need. And this is how Sofiia has repaid me for giving her a
home.’
