Ukrainians find 'greatest' place to call a home

THEY fled their homeland to survive Russia's invasion thinking they'd one day return home.

- By DANIEL HALL

However, as war continues to rage three years later, the kindness and welcome of a Northumberland community has offered a Ukrainian mum and her son a new place to call home.

Yuliia Volkova, 32, arrived in Morpeth with her son Danny, now six, in the summer of 2022. In March of that year, she had fled the town of Brody in Western Ukraine for Italy, where she sought refuge with her aunt.

She initially expected to return to the Eastern European nation after three or four months, but it soon became clear that was not the case. Yuliia said: "We recognised that nothing was stopping. We needed a future, me and the little one, he was three years old."

Yuliia had never been to the United Kingdom, though she had some family here. She said: "I had basic English, so it probably must be an English country where I can go to the shop and buy some bread or milk, what I need.