Ukrainian family settle in Wolverhampton after fleeing war

A mother-of-three who fled Ukraine with her family said they were glad to have arrived in the UK.

Katarina, her husband and their three young children, have moved into her sister Liza Cherney's home in Wolverhampton.

She said leaving Kyiv had been "the hardest decision" of her life but hoped to return in the future.

Ms Cherney said the family had taken a "chance" to try and find safe passage out of the country.

Katarina said they began making plans to leave as soon as the war began, but did not flee until 10 days later.

"I tried to not show my children that I am scared," she said.

She added it was "really nice" to be in the UK, because her children could "live their... lives".

"We are here... we don't hear the bombs and everything is okay and thanks to my sister that we can be here," she said.

Ms Cherney has moved in with her boyfriend and his mother in order to provide her sister's family with her flat.

After living in the UK for 14 years, she said it was "devastating" to be listening to news of the war while her family were still in Ukraine.

"You feel helpless," she said.

The fast-changing situation meant, even though she was in contact with her relatives, she did not know what would be happening from one moment to the next.

It took Katarina and her family four days to get to the Hungarian border, she said.

"Her husband spent a lot of time online just listening to the radio almost circling the spots on the map where it was a safe route to take," Ms Cherney said.

"But even that was a chance, because whatever was safe may not be safe half an hour later."

They then travelled to Austria and made their applications to come to the UK.

Ms Cherney said their parents, who have been separated for 10 years, were now living together in her sister's house as her father was too unwell to travel.

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]