Ukrainian refugee: "Scarborough is an incredible town"

It's been almost a year since the war broke out in Ukraine

Author: Karen LiuPublished 20th Jan 2023

An Ukrainian refugee living in Scarborough says she has been overwhelmed with the support her family has received.

Iryna Kutsemakhina has been in the town since fleeing Dnipro in April last year.

She has been speaking about living in Scarborough since the war broke out in Ukraine almost a year ago.

Iryna said: "When we first came I didn't notice much unfortunately, even this little town, but today I enjoy it very much. I enjoy the lovely sea and my children are in school and every morning I'd walk along the beach and enjoy the sunrise. It's an incredible town.

"I was really impressed by the local food but I can't say I love fish and chips very much but it's OK. The tastiest food I've tried is Christmas mince pies. I love them very much.

"When I was nearly close to giving up, because it wasn't easy, my sponsors supported us and when I came to Scarborough, I met Iain and the Ukrainian community and now I have great support from all British people. I've never had bad words.

"It's not only words but I've had physical support, it's everything. If I need towels then it's 'yes please, you're welcome' or if I need spoons. It doesn't matter what we need. When I tell all these words to my citizens back in my country then they're all encouraged too because they realise that the whole world supports us.

"When we left Ukraine I was thinking 'we're only living for a couple of months, maybe until June' and then it was until September and then November and now it's currently January. I love my country very, very much and the first opportunity I have I hope I can go home.

"We've got a great life in my country and I've got a job. I've got everything, just like many Ukrainians, and in one day we lost everything. But we've got our country and I'd like to live in my independent country to rebuild it and continue our safe and great life there."

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