Father-of-two, who left their partner of 10 years for Ukrainian refugee plans to marry her and start a family

The British father who fled with a refugee from Ukraine after she moved in with him and his partner has expressed his desire to wed her. Tony Garnett claims that he and Sofia Karkadym intend to start a family after she persuaded him to try to reverse a vasectomy he had after having two children with his ex.

? Joel Goodman - 07973 332324 - all rights reserved . 05/07/2022. Bradford , UK . SOFIIA KARKADYM (22) and TONY GARNETT (29) pose for photos in and around Bradford City Hall . Photo credit : Joel Goodman

Ten days after Sofiia arrived in the UK from war-torn Ukraine, the 29-year-old security guard moved out of his former home with Lorna and into a leased home in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

Speaking to MailOnline, he said: ‘I want to propose to this beautiful lady.’

? Joel Goodman - 07973 332324 - all rights reserved . 05/07/2022. Bradford , UK . TONY GARNETT (29) and SOFIIA KARKADYM (22) pose for photos in and around Bradford City Hall . Photo credit : Joel Goodman

Sofiia added: ‘We are planning our life together. I want to be a mother. I want to have children.

‘I am a young woman so it can wait a few years and I hope that Tony can have his vasectomy reversed so that we can become a family together.’

Despite having only been dating for two months, the couple intends to travel to Ukraine to meet Sofiia’s parents so Tony may propose to her.

Tony said: ‘I want to say that out of Putin’s evil has come something really good for me and her.’

He said he will formally propose once their situation is more stable, adding: ‘I want to make it special so we’re just going to wait until we have found somewhere proper to live where we can settle.’

Tony described the reaction to their coupling up as ‘mad’, saying: ‘I picked up 5,000 Instagram followers yesterday and she got 7,000 for no reason at all.

Security guard Tony Garnett, 29, said nothing happened with the 22-year-old Sofiia Karkadym until after they moved out

‘People are fascinated with us.’

Sofiia said: ‘The news about Tony and me has reached Ukraine and my family called me and said they were very upset and at one stage they said they were never going to talk to me again.

‘But I have explained to them that Tony was not married and that we innocently fell in love and this is a permanent thing.

Tony Garnett said that he and Sofiia Karkadym (pictured together), 22, also hope to have children together - if doctors can reverse the vasectomy he had after having two children with his previous partner

‘I was upset that my family read the stories that say a Ukrainian girl had gone to Britain and stolen somebody’s husband.

‘I am worried that the Russians will use this as propaganda to try and show the Ukrainians cause trouble wherever they go.’

After Sofiia started having eye issues, Tony is now her caregiver. He said: ‘Sofiia picked up an infection while in Germany and it got really bad when she arrived at Manchester Airport. She had an operation on it a few weeks back.

‘She can only see partially through it at the moment and that’s a bit worrying. But the doctors have said it will take six months for it to heal properly.