'I learnt how to navigate uncertainty after leaving Ukraine'

Two Ukrainian mothers who fled the war with Russia say they are still coming to terms with their new life in the UK four years on.

Maryna and Anastasiia found new homes with their families in East Yorkshire in 2022 after Russia launched a full-scale invasion on 24 February of that year.

Anastasiia fled with her five-year-old daughter to live with her mother in Hull, unsure what the future would hold.

"I felt lost," she explained. "You behave as if nothing happened for a long time and then the understanding comes of what happened to you.

"I became more silent. I would say this is the outcome. I learnt how to navigate uncertainty."

Despite the upheaval, she said her daughter was "a happy child".

With a smile, she said: "My mission is completed in this part of the story. I arranged our life so she could be settled and feel happy."

Since being in the UK, Anastasiia has collaborated with Hull Truck Theatre to create a cross-cultural project with Ukrainian children and teenagers.

Yet, despite the progress, Anastasiia, whose twin brother served for more than a year on the frontline in Ukraine, said events back home meant she could never be fully content.

"I don't live my whole life in the UK mentally. I don't know whether people can feel pure happiness in such circumstances, but I try to, sometimes I succeed," she said.

Russia's full-scale invasion began when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered up to 200,000 soldiers into Ukraine.

In an interview with the BBC, Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, explained why he had rejected the latest ceasefire deal demanded by Putin, insisting the Russian leader had already started World War Three.

Maryna, who lives in Welton with her husband and two children, has adapted but, like Anastasiia, cannot put the events of the past four years behind her.

She said: "Since the war started, I understand that sometimes we can't make decisions in our life.

"When the war broke out, we were in our flat in Kyiv and it was 05:30 in the morning. We just heard some explosions and I couldn't believe that it was happening.

"It was terrible and very scary."

Maryna and her two children moved to the UK in April 2022 to live with a family in South Cave after finding out about the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

She said her children "couldn't believe" they were fleeing the country and leaving everything behind to stay with people they did not know at the time.

"I didn't have any other options to keep them safe," Maryna explained.

Her husband was not able to join them in the UK until June 2023 and Maryna said she spent the time wondering if she would see him again.

When reunited at the airport a year later, she said she would "always remember this moment".

"It was a complete surprise for my children when they saw him. They cried and they laughed," she said.

The family have managed to find their independence and are now renting a house in Welton.

Maryna has visited Ukraine twice but said she remained "very worried" about the rest of her family who are still living in the country.

"It's not a nice place to go at the moment. Everything is different and scary," she added.

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