Ukraine war: New baby joy for Worcester refugee family

Max, 16, accompanied mum Alina to the hospital birth

A father, separated from his wife due to the war in Ukraine, has spoken of the stress and anxiety of not being able to support her as she gave birth to their new baby.

Lionel - known as Lio - was delivered at Worcestershire Royal Hospital last month to mum Alina.

"When Lio was born I was here in Kyiv, miles away from my family, so I was very nervous," said dad Roman.

He has only met his son via video calls.

Lio's brother Max and Alina fled the war and came to England as refugees in March 2022.

Alina, also a lawyer, went back to Kyiv briefly to visit her husband in January.

"After a few weeks [when I came back to the UK] I found out that I was pregnant and it was really a surprise for all of us. It made us really happy," she said.

Because the dad could not leave Ukraine, the couple's son Max accompanied his mum to hospital for the birth.

"It really was a huge moment," said the 16-year-old.

Roman is unable to leave Kyiv due to the war in Ukraine

When his mum Alina had a Caesarean at the Worcester hospital, he waited in a side room for nurses to call him in.

"I hadn't seen anything like that before," Max said. "I was quite nervous really, and scared, but it went fine."

He had never even held a baby before.

"When I had the caesarean section I couldn't take the baby immediately which is why they gave the baby to Max and Max kept him, and then when the operation was finished they gave me the baby," Alina, 41, said.

As well as helping with his new brother, Max is studying for GCSEs and plays basketball for Worcester Wolves.

Meanwhile his father is bracing himself for hard times ahead.

"The government is preparing us for a tough winter," explained Roman.

"Last year there were attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine, so there were lots of cut offs of electricity."

The family say they are trying to remain optimistic

The family is trying to be optimistic about when they can see each other again and Alina said that was how they coped.

"It's difficult, but I'm very happy to have this baby and this difficulty is temporary," she said.

Roman said he loved the baby "so much" and hoped to see him properly soon.