Families from Ukraine reflect on life in Devon

Thousands of Ukrainians are still seeking safety in the south-west of England four years after Russia first invaded Ukraine.

Some people hope to return home, while others plan on rebuilding their lives in the UK.

Svitlana Santos left her home in Kharkiv, a city heavily bombed by Russia in February 2022, while she was receiving treatment for cancer.

She said: "When the war began, I felt very bad physically.

"I had six rounds of chemotherapy, then an operation, and after that was tablets.

"I should've then got radiotherapy, but I didn't finish my treatment."

Santos travelled to Budapest to continue her treatment, and Plymouth's Derriford Hospital has looked after her since she became cancer-free.

She moved to the UK later in 2022 with her son Isaac, aged five at the time, and neither of them spoke English.

Many of Svitlana's friends still live in Ukraine, and she regularly helps send aid to them through PUMA (Plymouth Ukraine Medical Aid).

She said: "My heart suffers because my friends are still there. They are not young, they don't want to leave their houses.

"I'm still dreaming about how I can build my life in the UK. If the government gives us the opportunity to stay, I'd prefer to stay, earn money, become entrepreneurial, and support my friends and relatives from here.

"It will be easier for Isaac to live in the UK because he speaks English better than Ukrainian. He doesn't remember much about Ukraine and he's happy here. His teachers are very kind, nice people."

Six months after the war broke out, Olena Mykhailova and her two children Olga and Alex relocated to South Devon.

Olena's husband Valentin stayed in Kyiv, to continue running the family business.

Olena said: "It's another life because now everything's changed. We don't know what will happen after one hour, one day.

"We have made a lot of friends here who helped us from the first day. It's amazing."

Olena's children faced challenges with learning English.

Alex said: "I thought I knew some English, but I came here and I went to school on first day and heard people speaking and it was like a completely different language."

Since arriving in the UK, Olena, Olga and Alex have been living with a host family, Paul and Isy.

Isy remembers the first time she met the family at the airport. She said: "Olena ran under the barrier and she put her arms around me and I said to her 'you're safe, you're safe now'."

Olena said: "We hope this war ends and we can come back to Ukraine and we can be together with family and friends."

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