Ukraine: Family reunited in Suffolk after fleeing the war

Olena Rybalochka, Kateryna Rybalochka and Robert Chesnaye are thrilled to be back together in Haverhill

A British man and his Ukrainian family have had an emotional reunion after spending months apart.

Robert Chesnaye, from Haverhill, Suffolk, collected his wife and step-daughter, Kateryna and Olena Rybalochka from Luton Airport on Thursday.

He managed to secure a visa for them to come and live with him after they fled war-torn Ukraine via Hungary.

He said seeing them again was like "every Christmas throughout my life had come together".

Robert took yellow flowers wrapped with blue ribbon, the colours of the Ukrainian flag, to give to his wife and step daughter when they were reunited at Luton Airport

Robert said his heart was going "boom boom" as he waiting in Arrivals at Luton Airport

He lives and works in the UK, while his wife and daughter live in Ukraine.

The last time Mr Chesnaye saw his wife was in August while they were on holiday in Egypt, and then they went on to Kyiv before he travelled back to Britain.

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He said the past month had been "nerve-racking... all hell was let loose out there".

On meeting them again he said: "I'm glad you're both safe, I was worried, petrified every day... every night it was two hours sleep."

Robert and Kateryna have been catching up with each other as they have been apart for seven months

Their home in Kherson in Ukraine is where they were all planning on retiring to.

Speaking about the lead-up to the reunion, he said: "I had butterflies, I had the shakes, I had everything just waiting for the two girls to come through and the moment they came through it was like every Christmas in my life had come together in one hit".

Kateryna and Olena travelled with many other Ukrainians who were trying to flee their country

Kateryna said it took them weeks to get to the UK, as they had to board a train that did not move for four days and ended up in the Hungarian capital Budapest, while their visas were sorted out.

It was "an experience I would not want to repeat" and she said seeing her home country bombed was mentally challenging and a shock they were not prepared for.

The mother and daughter were "grateful" to be safely in Suffolk as it was really important to have a place to live where they were "not afraid".

Mr Chesnaye said their visas were currently only for three months so he would work to get them extended to three years, as that was what he thought they would be for.

The stayed in temporary accommodation until their visas were processed to get them to the UK

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