‘It’s important to know we are not alone’: Ukrainians thank Greater Manchester

Alina will never forget the words written in red block letters as she turned on the news one fateful February morning last year: “Putin started the war”.

As a journalist living in Kyiv, she had heard all the predictions that an invasion by Russian forces was imminent – but her brain didn’t want to believe it, she says.

Now living with a ‘beautiful’ family in Altrincham, the 32-year-old recalls the awful conditions she endured for six months – sheltering in the cold corridors of her apartment block and in its damp basement – before moving to Greater Manchester last summer.

One year on from Russian president Vladimir Putin invading Ukraine, her message to Greater Manchester is simple: “Thank you.”

“It’s important for us to understand that we are not alone,” she said. “Ukrainians are very brave people, Ukrainians are very strong.

“But it’s very important for us to have this feeling inside that we are not alone and we are grateful for all the people around the world who support us.”

Speaking at a press conference called by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham on the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Alina Kostrubitska explained what life in Kyiv is like now.

Having just visited the city where her husband and mother still live for the first time since leaving six months ago, she reported that her hometown looks ‘a little bit different’ today.

The city centre smells like petrol, she told the press briefing, because of the generators which are powering businesses in lieu of electricity.

The traffic lights do not work in the evenings either for the same reason, she explained.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, she said her daily video conversations with her relatives who remained are often disrupted by poor internet connection.

Her family has faced days without any water of heating.

However, asked how she is coping, she expressed gratitude for her life now in the UK. “Everything is really perfect except that I’m not at home,” she said.

Liudmyla Hryshyna also moved to Greater Manchester last summer.

She escaped from Kharkiv – a city in a region which was occupied by Russian forces for months – when her apartment building was bombed last March.

“We saw all the explosions, all of the fires outside of our window,” she said, speaking in Ukrainian at the press conference.

Alina, who translated for her, explained that Liudmyla’s 91-year-old father-in-law lived nearby in Kupiansk.

He was left lying alone in his garage for days before soldiers rescued him following an attack which destroyed his home.

Her husband had stayed in Kharkiv to look after his frail father, but she left with her son, 15, and her daughter, 26, to live in Poltava before finding a host family in the UK.

While her daughter is now in western Ukraine, Liudmyla and her son are living with a family in Manchester whom she is very grateful to have found.

She is also grateful to the schools who have allowed her son to continue learning.

“It’s very important for her son to continue studying because there are no working schools in Kharkiv now and education can only be online,” Alina said.

Representing the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, Bohdan Ratych also shared his gratitude to Greater Manchester and the UK government.

He urged the country to continue supporting the fight for freedom in Ukraine.

He echoed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy who has repeatedly said his country is not just fighting for its own independence, but for the security of Europe and the rest of world.

And he explained that even after the war is won, Ukraine will need financial aid – at an estimated value of $80bn – to rebuild its bridges, hospitals and apartment buildings which have been totally destroyed.

Bohdan hopes that British businesses will continue to be ‘at the forefront’ of providing this financial support.

The British national who runs the Ukranian Cultural Centre in Cheetham Hill thanked the local authorities who have opened their doors and helped those displaced by the Russian invasion.

However, he reminded members of the media at the event held in Manchester on Friday (February 24) that these refugees would rather be at home.

“The people who are here are transient – they’re here temporary,” he said.

“They don’t want to be here.

"They’re here because they want to take their children – it’s mainly mothers and children who want to escape the bombings, the shootings and the horrific stories we hear in Ukraine.”

The press conference also heard from Jackie Snell, director fundraising and communications at UK Med, a frontline medical aid charity which has helped send 130 NHS medics to Ukraine and set up mobile clinics in the country.

The organisation has also helped train surgeons and first responders in Ukraine.

Now the Manchester-based charity is relaunching its national appeal, asking the public to donate money to support British doctors helping out in Ukraine.

Mr Burnham said the city-region will also be supporting Kyiv whose mayor Vitali Klitschko has asked for help through the Global Resilient Cities Network.

The Greater Manchester mayor said that the city-region has welcomed at least 2,000 people from Ukraine since the war started last year. 

Reflecting on the accounts shared by Alina and Liudmyla, he said: “Ukrainian people have shown us what true strength looks like, what true courage looks like.

“The world has been inspired by the people of Ukraine over the last 12 months.

"The resilience is really something that shows us what human beings can do and what challenges can be overcome.

“Ukraine will prevail ultimately – there is no doubt about that.”

For more information about how to donate to UK Med, visit: www.uk-med.org

---

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.