Norfolk MP Duncan Baker welcomes Ukrainian mother and son

A Ukrainian mother whose son was rescued from one of the first cities invaded by Russian troops has been welcomed into the home of a Norfolk MP.

Anna Kolomiichuk and her son are staying with Conservative North Norfolk MP Duncan Baker.

Before fleeing Ukraine, her husband had rescued their son from Melitopol, where he had been staying with her parents.

Mrs Kolomiichuk said she was relieved to be safe but worried about people such as her husband still in Ukraine.

She said she cannot "find words to express how awful it is" in Ukraine.

"The hardest thing to see is that there are people who don't believe this is really happening, who think it's fake," Mrs Kolomiichuk said.

"It is real and no matter what the news says. We have families, friends living in cities that have been bombed.

"Even though we are safe here and I would love to try to live a normal life, there's still part of me that's still in Ukraine and of course I worry about people who are there - lots of friends who decided to stay there or couldn't leave."

She said she was "terrified" when her son was staying with her parents in Melitopol at the start of the war.

"We didn't know whether we should drive to Melitopol right away but there were explosions and a shortage of fuel already. Everyone was terrified."

She said "it was a really big risk" for her husband to drive there but one he "had to take".

Mrs Kolomiichuk is one of 500 refugees to be placed in Norfolk, where she said she has had "so much support".

She said she has been made to "feel at home" by Mr Baker and his family.

Mr Baker said: "We are here to help and support them as much as possible and at the moment we just want to put a little joy back into their lives."

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