A young Ukrainian refugee now living in the UK was so traumatised by the war she didn't speak for five weeks.
Milana Pankevych, nine, fled her homeland with her brother Artem, 17, and mum Olena, 38, before eventually arriving in Trafford, Greater Manchester.
Andy Gilbride and his wife Grazyna, both 56, are hosting them and a second family of three at their home in the village of Timperley.
There were fears that Artem may not be able to flee due to Ukraine's rule about able-bodied men staying to fight, reports the Manchester Evening News.
He is still traumatised by what he experienced and does not want to be around people, Andy explained.
The family arrived in England at the start of the month after they fled Lviv in Western Ukraine, via Krakow in Poland.
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"The little girl didn't speak," said Andy, referring to Milana.
"She's so sweet, she even bought a squeaky rubber chicken on her journey through Europe for our dog, Owen.
"I said to them, just wait until she gets here, she’ll start talking as soon as she sees the dog."
Andy and Grazyna also previously offered their home in North Wales to Syrian refugees.
They were inspired by Grazyna's family's ordeal in World War Two.
"My wife’s mother was Polish and in WW2 when the Russian’s came in, they killed her father, killed the young sons, put the four little girls on a sledge with their mother and sent them off as refugees," Andy said.
"Her mum only survived because of someone’s help. She was taken in in India, eventually, and lived there for the last four years of the war.
"That’s why we’re doing this. I wouldn’t have my wife if that hadn’t have happened."
Andy explained how he was laid up in bed with Covid when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the invasion.
He watched the advance on his computer and began thinking about what he could do to help.
"I started searching for people on Facebook, finding Ukrainians, commenting on their posts, offering a place for women and children and it spread like a tree, all through word of mouth," he said.
The second Ukrainian family Andy and his wife welcomed consists of Galina, 38, and her children Christina, 18, and Boris, 11.
He went on to say Trafford council undertook rigorous checks of them and their home to ensure they were suitable.
"There were a lot of checks, especially for hosting kids. They visited around three or four times, checking our passports, our fire alarms, electrics, fire doors…making sure it was all safe."
The council gives host families £350 per month to help look after refugees, which is flat rate per household.
Refugee families can also get a one-off £200 in food voucher per family as well.
The children can go to school, the adults can work and are expected to pay taxes.
They are also able to register with doctors and dentists.
Andy said: "It’s just like they’ve come from the EU, like when we were still in it."
Once approved, Ukrainian refugees can get an initial six-month visa.
But this can be bumped up to three years if they are granted a biometric visa.
From there, they can apply for full residency if they want to.
Andy added: "Britain‘s been brilliant, but they were a bit slow on the visa scheme. At the start we were waiting six weeks for visa approval, I’ve heard now it can be down to three days."
He is currently helping Olena and Galina look for jobs, and the children to find school places.
"They’re getting settled and they’re settling in brilliantly," he said.
Gilana had a job interview this week and Milana is talking again.
"We’re very privileged and they can see we’re just nice people," Andy added.
The couple have two adult daughters of their own who no longer live at home.
If you would like more information of how to become a host for a refugee family or other ways of helping, click here.
