Ukrainian refugees mark two years of war

Kseniia Novikova left her home a few days after the Russian invasion

"It's something you have to do to save your life."

That is what Kseniia Novikova had to say about leaving Ukraine.

She is one of more than 200,000 people who used the government's Homes for Ukraine scheme to flee the war and come to the UK. Of those, more than 2,200 were sponsored by people in Berkshire.

On the two-year anniversary of the start of the conflict, this is what three refugees living in the county had to say.

'There is safety'

Ms Novikova used to work for a radio station in Kyiv, but when the war started she fled to Poland. She now lives in Lower Earley, Reading, with her mother.

The 36-year-old said she never dreamt of coming to the UK, but "sometimes you make some intuitive decisions".

"It was based on some fear that everything will move to the western part of Europe," she said.

She believed the UK was safe because it was so far away from Ukraine.

Ms Novikova came to the UK with her mother, Victoria

Ms Novikova does not know when, or if, she will be able to move back to Ukraine.

"When you live [for] two years far away from your homeland, you try to settle in the place where you stay, and in this case it could be hard to move just because, again, it's big changes," she said.

"Even if you return, it will not be the same country anymore... it will be a hard choice for a lot of people."

'Very worried'

For Nataliya and her teenage son, Tymur, the community in Reading was key to helping them settle in.

"It’s been really hard because of the language," said Tymur.

"It’s been a nice community... they’re really helping me these days. I don’t know what I will do without them."

Tymur joined Reading Canoe Club after fleeing Ukraine

The pair fled Ukraine eight days into the war.

Tymur now kayaks with the Reading Canoe Club, and has dreams of competing in the Canoe Sprint Olympic Hopes Regatta in Hungary in September.

"In the UK, when I moved here, I haven’t [kayaked]... far because I haven’t been training for a while," he said.

"But now I’m keeping up with it and... [I've] been on a couple of competitions where I’m still getting stronger."

His mother says they are "safe here", but they are "very worried" about friends still living in Ukraine.

'A bad dream'

Anastasiia said it was "upsetting" how long the war was going on for

Anastasiia said she was "very grateful" to the British people and the government for their support, but the war felt "like a bad dream still going on".

She left the port city of Odesa after a week because she and her family could not "stand it". Now, she lives in Windsor with her husband and two children - one of whom was born in the UK.

"She's growing up as a British girl," said Ms Kot.

She said she wanted people to keep talking about the war.

"Some people are asking what the situation is in Ukraine because... people stopped talking about it a lot," she said.

"But the war is still there and it's harder than before."

Ms Kot lives in Windsor with her husband and children

She had to return to Ukraine briefly to complete some documentation for her daughter.

"It was stressful, but it was a happy moment to meet friends and family," she said.

Ms Kot does not know what the future holds for her family, but says the support of her community is getting her through.

"We are thankful and happy to have each other," she said.