Service marks fourth anniversary of Ukraine war

Caroline Robinsonand
Johnny Rutherford,South West
News imageBBC A woman with shoulder length brown hair. She is looking to the right. She is wearing a black vest with a white t-shirt on top and a black and yellow lanyard. In the background is a woman holding a child and a another person looking at her. Behind them is a white wall with bunting of the Ukrainian flag. BBC
Organiser Iryna Crernenko said the event was to share Ukrainian culture with people in Cornwall

An event has been held to mark the fourth anniversary of the war in Ukraine and thank the people of Cornwall for helping people who have fled the conflict.

The In Line of Light for Ukraine event in Truro at the weekend was funded by Cornwall Council's Resettlement Service.

Cornwall Council said more than 670 Cornish households had opened their doors through the Homes for Ukraine scheme, providing safety for more than 1,270 people forced to flee the war.

Iryna Crernenko, an organiser of the event, said the event was to say thank you to the Cornish community and share the Ukrainian culture with the community.

Crernenko said: "We want to have a line of light for Ukraine and share our history, our culture and our food with the Cornish community to highlight the topics for Ukraine, to say thank you to the Cornish community which opened doors for Ukrainian families."

Nataliia Kuzmenko lost her brother two years ago in the war and attended the event in Truro.

She said: "It's not our war. We didn't choose it. We are just trying to survive. We are just trying to protect our children and our country.

"Those men and women, everyone who is fighting and who didn't survive in the war, they are fighting for independence. I'm here today because they can't be here. They can't speak for themselves."

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