Liudmyla’s journey to the UK

Liudmyla’s Story

Liudmyla and her two children are from Kharkiv. After being forced to flee their homes when Russia invaded, they decided to try to find safety in the UK. USPUK found them sponsors in London and arranged their relocation to the UK. They arrived over a year ago and have now settled into their new lives in the UK. Liudmyla spoke to us about her experience and her journey from the far east of Ukraine to northwest London.

In Liudmyla’s Own Words

“We are from Kharkiv, and now live in London temporarily. The war came to us very unexpectedly on February 24th 2022. It all started with loud explosions as Russian troops bombed Kharkiv. I was scared for myself and my young children, one of whom was less than two years old. We were living on the outskirts of the city, near the Russian border. By the second day of the full-scale war, there were destroyed Russian vehicles lying close to our home. We will always be grateful to the Ukrainian military who prevented the Russians from breaking into our city. 

It was impossible to sit in our apartment, so we and other families from our building moved to the basement to sleep, eat and keep warm. Every night a plane flew over our house dropping bombs on Kharkiv. No one could understand why they were doing it, why they came to our home, why they were destroying cities, and killing people. A normal person will never be able to understand this.

We lived like this for almost two weeks, but it became clear that we could not stay. We practically never left the basement, the conditions became damp and unpleasant, there were fewer and fewer people and the children were in constant fear. We left Kharkiv for Poltava, in central Ukraine. On the day after we left, a Russian mine bomb fell near our apartment - the windows were blown out, the furniture was broken, metal fragments were left all around our apartment. It is hard to imagine what could have happened if there were children in the apartment at that moment. 

We lived in Poltava for some time - it was calmer there, but we were still worried constantly. We were not being bombed every day, so my children could go outside sometimes. Their school in Kharkiv moved online. This was very important - it gave us hope that a peaceful life and victory were close. Unfortunately, the school building was bombed and badly damaged. We saw terrible photos of the destruction. In the changing rooms, among the debris, children’s clothes and shoes were still hanging. Just a few weeks ago, those same rooms and halls were filled with children’s laughter. We could not understand what the threat was there - why would they bomb a school? But the lessons continued online - the educational process did not stop. 

We eventually managed to move to London under the Homes for Ukraine programme. USPUK’s team contacted us and finally gave us hope for a peaceful life - it was the best thing that had happened to us in a long time. We appreciated the support at every step of the way, and all the advice and help. We have been living in London for a year now. We were welcomed by our lovely sponsors, who are wonderful and very interesting people. They have done so much for us and are still doing a lot. We will always be grateful to them and to all the other people who helped us. Although this is not our home country, our friends try to make us feel as if we were at home here!

Back in Kharkiv, when things were peaceful there, football was very important to my eldest son, Yaroslav. He played in the local team, with constant training and matches. When we arrived in London, his main concern was whether he would be able to keep playing here. We were recommended to contact a local football club - I emailed and the very next day Yaroslav was on the football pitch again! Shortly after this, USPUK arranged for us to go and see the Ukraine-England charity football match at Wembley Stadium last year. It was Yaroslav’s dream to see a game at Wembley and now it has come true! He is still at the football club and dreams of becoming a professional player some day!”

Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors in offering to host and the dedication of USPUK’s Ukrainian Sponsorship Project team, we have been able to offer families like Liudmyla’s a chance to find safety in the UK and rebuild lives disrupted and scarred by the war. We are proud of the impact our work has had at an individual level and we will continue it for as long as people like Liudmyla are still in need of our help. 

If you would like to get involved or if you would like more information about our Ukrainian Sponsorship Project, you can find out more on our website in the Become a Host section.