Ukrainian refugee 'can finally sleep soundly'

Arthur Polishchuk used to run a language school in Ukraine but now works as a translator for Ukrainian soldiers in the UK

A Ukrainian refugee who moved to the UK to build a new life with his family said it took a year before he could sleep soundly at night due to the fear of shelling and air raid sirens.

Arthur Polishchuk, 50, moved to Norfolk in 2023, a year after his wife Olena and their three children.

Now living independently in Norwich, Mr Polischuk said they were grateful to the host family who first housed them in Shelfanger, near Diss.

"They welcomed absolute strangers from another country into their home. They treated us as their family," he said.

"They helped us start building our lives from scratch... I've never seen such beautiful people and such a welcoming family in my life."

The couple's children, aged between eight and 16, attend local schools and a college, while Mr Polishchuk works as a translator with Ukrainian soldiers preparing for military action in the country.

He recalls how the sounds of war while he was still in Ukraine left him "expecting the worst".

He said: "It took me another year to stop waking up at night, being afraid of the air raid sirens and expecting some shelling."

In Ukraine, Mr Polishchuk used to own a language school and his wife taught English.

"When the war started, we actually ran out of students," he said.

"We helped most of our students move out of Ukraine because of the invasion and I couldn't run the business any longer."

Breckland Council is renewing its appeal for host families to take in Ukrainian refugees for the next 18 months.

Conservative councillor Tristan Ashby said there were 900 households in Norfolk used to host Ukrainian refugees, including 52 adults and nine children in Breckland.

Norfolk's Lord-Lieutenant, Lady Dannatt, took a mother and a 16-year-old boy into her home during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"It just seemed absolutely the right thing to do in situations like this," she said.

"I always think, supposing it was me and my children, I would be so grateful if people gave me this opportunity."

Years on from their arrival, she said the family was now living independently, with the boy, now a 20-year-old man, studying law at university after completing his A-levels in Norwich.

She said: "I just feel so proud of them both... I can't say it was a hardship for us. I am just so proud of what they have achieved."