Ukrainian mother: I love Scotland but after the war I want to go home

Now settled into a new Perth home, Nadya Kudriavtseva is enjoying her new routines but still misses home

For Nadya Kudriavtseva, this Ukrainian independence day is bittersweet.

She is one of the "orphanage mothers" who fled Ukraine with a group of orphans following the Russian invasion in March 2022.

With eight of those children, she has settled into a new home in Perth and seen the youngsters thriving at a new school.

But 18 months after arriving in Scotland, Nadya sends a tearful message to her friends and relatives back home, hoping one day the war will end and they will be together again.

"I like Scotland very much. It's a beautiful, wonderful country," Nadya said.

"But I still hope one day when the war will stop. I'm still hoping to go back to Ukraine because that's where my home is.

"I want to tell everybody who I love - all my friends and relatives and whoever left Ukraine - just be strong and lets all hope that the war will end one day hopefully very soon and we will all come back home to Ukraine."

Walks in the park have become a new part of the family's routine

Nadya is the official guardian of nine young people aged between nine and 18.

Their passage to Scotland 18 months ago was supported by the Edinburgh charity Dnipro Kids Appeal.

Its chairman Steven Carr said: "While war continues to rage in Ukraine we're still moving these families forward and seeing what we can do

"We've got four of the families in their own homes. We've got two in their own homes in Edinburgh and two in their own homes in Perth here.

"They've now got their own homes so they can go back to some level of having a family life which is great and the families and the children are absolutely thriving with that - it's great to see and it's fantastic we finally managed to get to that point."

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The family are adjusting to their new life in Perth after living as a group in Edinburgh.

Nadya said she is now enjoying getting into a routine like a normal family.

She said: "In the morning I finally can just prepare breakfast for my family and we can all get together and after they get back from school or whatever they're doing during the day, we can just gather all together around the table and discuss whatever they did and go to the park together and be as any other normal family."

The Dnipro kids are thriving at their new school and have made lots of new friends.

The younger children previously attended Castleview Primary School in Edinburgh who supported the transition to their new school, Inch View primary in Perth.

Inch View head teacher Margaret Donaghy said the group are settling in well in their new classrooms.

She said: "They're very welcome. They've settled in really well and we're delighted to have them. We have a number of children in our school with a variety of different nationalities so they've naturally fitted in really well.

"The children are lovely. The whole community is lovely and has been really welcoming to everybody at Inch View so we're very lucky that they've joined us."

ANALYSIS

By Catriona Renton, BBC Scotland Senior News Reporter

I have been following the story of the Dnipro Kids for the last 18 months.

War ripped them from the homes they had been living in with their orphanage mums in family groups in Dnipro.

The charity Dnipro Kids, originally set up by Hibs fans following a football match in the city, stepped in to help.

They cut through red tape and arranged for the children and their orphanage mums to be brought to Scotland.

It has been heartening to watch their progress and see their confidence growing.

The children have been attending local schools, learning English and making friends. Some of the older children have now left school with some studying and in apprenticeships.

Now four of the six families are in their own homes - a more permanent lifestyle in their adopted country.

But it is just for now until Ukraine is a safer place for them to return to.