Ukrainian refugees say trip home is something they 'need to do'

Fifteen-year-old Masha said her schoolfriends told her she was crazy when she told them she was visiting Kyiv

BBC Masha — Fifteen-year-old Masha said her schoolfriends told her she was crazy when she told them she was visiting Kyiv

Three Ukrainian refugees who fled to safety in the UK at the start of the war are planning to return home and see family despite fears for their safety.

Masha, her mother Maryna and cousin Katya have been staying with a host family in Market Rasen in Lincolnshire.

They booked flights home months ago, before the recent increase in Russian rocket attacks on cities.

All three say they intend to travel despite pleas from their families in Ukraine not to come back.

The trio's home is near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, which has been hit by renewed Russian missile attacks in recent days.

The US said the "brutal" attacks had struck non-military targets, including a university and children's playground.

Russia has increased missile attacks on the centre of Kyiv

OLEG PETRASYUK/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock Bomb damage in Kyiv street — Russia has increased missile attacks on the centre of Kyiv

Student Katya said her family were scared about their visit, which involves free flights for refugees with airline Wizz Air to countries bordering Ukraine, later this month.

"I worry about all of us not only me, but we need to do this," the 17-year-old said.

"They said, 'please don't come back, don't come back to the home'.

"They are so afraid, it's not a safe place especially for now. But they understand that we want to see each other."

Analysis - Linsey Smith, correspondent, BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

"My body is safe in Lincolnshire, but my soul is in Ukraine."

The words of one of this group of Ukrainian refugees when I first met them months ago.

The longing for their homeland has not subsided.

They booked their flights weeks ago; risk appeared to have eased.

But news this week of renewed attacks near their home in the Kyiv region has brought tears, worries but also a fierce sense of determination.

Their family at home in Ukraine, the fathers and brothers who were not permitted to escape with them, have begged them not to return.

They are acutely aware of the dangers.

But these are strong young women. Strong enough to move across the world to escape war. And strong-willed enough to fly into danger for even a few precious days with the ones they love.

Katya's mother returned to Ukraine to look after her elderly grandmother, leaving Katya's aunt Maryna to care for her and her 15-year-old cousin Masha.

Maryna said she was looking forward to seeing her own son, who remains in the country.

"I've been waiting to see him so much," she said.

"I'm so excited. It's like when he was born, the first look."