Ukrainian refugee to return home from Suffolk to be with family

Maryna Nesterenko, who has a three-year-old daughter, said she wanted to be back with her family

Vikki Irwin/BBC Maryna Nesterenko with her three year old daughter — Maryna Nesterenko, who has a three-year-old daughter, said she wanted to be back with her family

A Ukrainian refugee who has been living in the UK for nine months said she was returning to her home country because there was no end to the war in sight.

Maryna Nesterenko, 38, and her three-year-old daughter have been living with a host family in Rendlesham, Suffolk, since November.

But she said she did not want to be separated from her husband and family any longer.

"The war goes on and no-one knows when it will end," she said.

Ms Nesterenko fled from Chernihiv, which is about a two-hour drive north of Kyiv.

She said it was a "really difficult" choice to return to the Ukraine but she needed the support from her husband and family around her.

"If there was somebody nearby me, I would be living here longer, I would be able to rent a flat or a house but I don't have the support," she said.

She said her husband had been missing seeing their daughter grow up, and it had been "heart-breaking" for him.

"It's a really difficult choice, my mind has been split into two whether to stay here or to go but nevertheless I think it's the right decision.

"The whole family will be reunited together, my husband will be helping me, I will go to work, I will have spare hands.

"We all see, the whole world sees, that the war will not finish this year, it's obvious," she said.

'Unforgettable time'

She said she was "definitely worried" about returning to war-torn Ukraine but there had not been any bombing of her home city for a year.

Meanwhile, she said she would always look back at her time in the UK and Suffolk fondly.

"On the one hand it was the saddest time of my life because I had been separated from my relatives, my husband, my city, but on the other hand, it's been the most unforgettable time in my life," she said.