Swindon’s Ukrainian residents say they ‘want to stay’
Today is the third anniversary of the start of the war
Ukrainians living in Swindon say it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to go back to their home country once the war is over.
Many of them arrived with little children who have only known the UK as their home and after three years abroad, a lot of them only speak English.
As today marks the three-year anniversary of the start of the war between Russia and the Ukraine, the future is still uncertain for Ukrainians who have had to flee from their country – and they are starting to settle in their new homes.
Anastasiia Banatska, one of the Ukrainians who came to Swindon, said: “I came with my child when he was half a year old and now he's four and he speaks just English. And the thing is that he cannot speak Ukrainian. I tried to teach him, of course.
“It's hard. We have lived here for three years already, and we can say that a lot of people, they settle here already and I'm not sure how we'll be when the war is finished. Of course, when a woman has a husband, she will go back to Ukraine. So, I think that lots of people will come back to Ukraine, but a lot of people they want to stay and they look for some way to stay in the UK”.
Anastasiia is also the new chair of Swindon Welcomes Ukraine, the same organisation that helped her when she first arrived in town.
To mark the third anniversary of the start of the war, they organised a Stand With Ukraine event on the weekend, including a mini-exhibition and a march.
They are hoping to light up an otherwise “very sad” time of the year for Ukrainians, said Kris Talikowski who is the vice chair of Swindon Welcomes Ukraine.
“Every anniversary of the war is particularly poignant to all Ukrainians, and especially those in Swindon. The fact that war is still ongoing, it's a worry and a constant background stress for a lot of Ukrainians thinking about how the future will look – whether that's in the UK or whether that's going to be back to Ukraine.
“There's a lot of fear and when you speak to Ukrainians, I think it is the major feeling at the moment. Although, which we're being supportive as we can do, I think the challenge right now is the fact that Trump has got involved and seems to be siding with Putin on a few of the main topics and issues which is making it very hard for Ukraine to feature in their own future right now”.
Maryna Shpylova, who came to Swindon from her home city of Kherson, added: “These last weeks have been difficult for Ukraine, many bombs, drone attacks, destruction, deaths. Therefore, our Ukrainians feel this depression from all these events. Many have husbands, families, eldest sons there”.
Both her and Anastasiia stressed how important the support they are receiving is for the Ukrainian community in Swindon.
“Swindon Borough Council, Wiltshire Council and organisations like Swindon Welcomes Ukraine and other organisations who support Ukrainians, they were more than welcoming.
“In general here, I would say, it's not just organisations, it's more about family and I'm really glad that we have such strong support”, said Anastasiia.