Ukrainian refugees in Dorset cling on to 'dream' to return home

Maryna Dovbysh has not been back to Ukraine since the war broke out

Returning to Ukraine feels like an impossible "dream" for some Ukrainians who fled to the UK after war broke out.

Saturday 24 February marks two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country.

Dorset has welcomed more than 1,000 people through the government's Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Refugees and people from organisations who have been supporting them recently gathered for an event in Poundbury.

They reflected on the achievements of the past two years as well as looking to the challenges ahead.

Maryna Dovbysh, who was a journalist in Ukraine, has not been back to her country since the war began.

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The 36-year-old lives with her two young children in Weymouth and works as a refugee project officer for charity Help and Kindness.

She said: "Of course people dream about returning home because they have families there, their flats, a feeling of cultural unity, but it is very hard because the war is not over.

"We cannot make any decisions about returning home because it is still dangerous and we do not know when it will stop."

She said it was "really an achievement" that Ukrainians felt safe in the UK.

"Our children feel safe and I know, from my experience, that if they contact local community organisations, churches and the council, people will receive support," she explained.

Dorset Council said 171 Ukrainians have returned home, but most have stayed in the county, either living with hosts or in private rented accommodation.

Chef Olya Patiuta, 38, has been in Dorset since April 2022. The mother-of-two cooked traditional Ukrainian food borscht and pampushky bread for the event in Poundbury.

Olya Patiuta has established a catering business in Dorset

She has established a catering business in Dorset and said, for now, she sees her future in England.

"I thought we would come just for the summer and the war would be finished," she said.

"But two years later it is not safe to return. My kids are growing here and have an opportunity to have a normal childhood without checking the sky for bombs."

She explained that her brothers and uncle were fighting in the military, adding: "My heart is tearing apart. I am living in two worlds - physically I am here but mentally I am there."

Ukrainians who came to the UK were given three-year visas but the government has extended the length of time people can stay by 18 months.

Thomas Hensher, a refugee case worker from Citizens Advice Central Dorset, welcomed the extension.

"It is really welcome news and will relieve a lot of anxiety for my clients," he said.

Photographer Nataliia, 37, came to Dorset from Kharkiv three months after the war began with her son, who is now 12.

Initially her husband was not allowed to leave Ukraine but he has since been able to join them in Dorchester because he has various health conditions.

She said: "We are safe but we have survivor's guilt. I feel guilty because others are not safe back in Ukraine.

"For me, home is still home and I want to go back, but for my child it is much safer to be here."

Nataliia and her son and husband are now all in Dorset

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