A mum who fled the Ukraine while 36 weeks pregnant has given birth to a baby girl in the UK.
Lena Kulakovska decided to escape her war-torn homeland when her family's home in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, was damaged by shelling during Russia's invasion.
The city was the scene of the Bucha massacre during the early stages of the Russian offensive, which saw over 1,000 Ukrainians butchered, including dozens of killed civilians.
Having decided to flee, Lena's husband Sergii was prevented from crossing the border, leaving Lena to travel thousands of miles with her children Kyryl, seven, and Arina, five.
After a long journey, Lena gave birth to a third child, Nicole, at Plymouth's Derriford Hospital on July 5.
Lena, 37, said she initially wanted to remain in Ukraine with factory manager Sergii, 39, in the hope the the conflict would come to an end.
“I didn't want to go anywhere – I stayed in Ukraine until June hoping the war would end,” Lena said in quotes reported by The Sun.
“But I didn't want to give birth in a basement so I decided to go.”
Having made it as far as the German city of Dortmund, Lena and her children were brought to the UK by car by husband and wife Matt and Beth Collier from the Diocese of Exeter.
The family are currently staying with Archdeacon of Plymouth Nick Shutt and his wife Corinne at their home in Walkhampton.
Lena added: “It’s different having a baby in Britain – the medicine is different. Corinne helped me get to hospital and a midwife came to visit me once.
“Now we don’t have a house in Ukraine. The Russians were bombing for fun. My husband is working which is very nice because jobs are like a lottery – there is not too much money.”
