Two sisters from Ukraine have praised a "miracle" family from Yorkshire who opened up their home and welcomed them in.
Kateryna and Daryna, both fled Kyiv as soon as the war with Russia broke out at the end of February. Kateryna, 28, had to walk out of Kyiv as soon as Russian troops made their advance while Daryna, 33, and her four-year-old son Yuroslav had to catch a bus out of their small town close to the capital.
Since running away, they have been stranded in Lublin, a Polish city close to the Ukrainian border, YorkshireLive reports.. But now a family has come forward to help them, allowing Kateryna and Daryna to soon catch a train across Europe and move in with their Yorkshire hosts.
Read more:
"It was so hard [to leave]," said Kateryna. "I walked. It took a full day to leave. My sister [left] with her son by bus. Actually, we don’t want to move anywhere now. We miss our life before this, but the most lovely place for me now is England."
The sisters have stated they want to return to their homeland as soon as possible which has been made difficult due to the ongoing war. Kateryna speaks English and has described the UK as a "super amazing country" where she hopes she and her sister will be safe.
"The UK is the most interesting country in Europe," said Kateryna. "We know it is so hard to get this visa. I don’t want to stay [forever], but I just want to see this huge country with this huge history."
The sisters found the host family through the Leeds-based travel company GOAT Roadtrip. Chief executive Kevin Cabra Netherton drove over 1,000 miles from Leeds to work alongside charities and help match Ukrainian refugees with British hosts.
Crying tears of joy, Kateryna told Yorkshire Live: "It’s a little bit strange because it’s a new experience for me and my sister especially. When I saw photos of the family, it was like a miracle.
"We want to go back to Ukraine now so much, but I know I can take something beautiful from this situation.
"This situation is horrible, I know, but we have to find something. This is an amazing opportunity to meet people like this."
Since the Homes for Ukraine scheme was launched across the UK, more than 150,000 people have signed up. Hosts receive up to £350 a month for opening up their homes to refugees but they must be able to name their potential visitors on an application form.
Kevin is helping to coordinate the logistics of the massive project, which has allowed than 20,000 Ukrainians apply to be relocated to the UK.
"We’re really happy to help," said Kevin. "We want to welcome you into our homes and make you feel safe and welcome. We have lots of lovely people, especially in Yorkshire."
Click here for the latest headlines from the Manchester Evening News
