Ukraine: Childhood friends reunite in Wales after fleeing war

A Ukrainian woman has been reunited with her childhood friend in Wales two months after she and her three daughters escaped from Mariupol.

Nataliia Roberts spent weeks desperately trying to get visas for her friend Yuliia and her daughters.

Eventually, they were granted a visa under the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme.

After an emotional reunion at Manchester Airport, Yuliia and the girls have now moved in with a host family in Bangor, Gwynedd.

Nataliia and her husband Dewi, from Caernarfon, had been working hard to help her friend Yuliia and her daughters, aged 12, six and three, with the paperwork that would allow her family to reach safety.

Even on the day the family were leaving Poland, it was still unclear if they would actually make the flight bound for Manchester Airport because security checks in Krakow would not allow them to board the plane.

Yuliia and her three daughters fled Mariupol in April and endured a horrific journey to Lviv before finally crossing the border into Poland, where they lived for two months, sorting passports and paperwork.

Yuliia and her daughters arrived at Manchester Airport on 22 June with just two suitcases.

Nataliia was desperate for Yuliia and the girls to live in Wales, but because she was already sponsoring her mother and stepfather under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, they had no room for everyone in the house.

She then searched for a home for them near Caernarfon, so she and her family could support Yuliia.

About seven weeks ago, they found a suitable couple from Bangor who wanted to host Yuliia and her daughters.

Nia and her husband Owen said they were "delighted" Yuliia and her daughters were finally in Wales.

They are among 2,979 Ukrainian arrivals in Wales, with more than 100 under the sponsorship scheme in Gwynedd.

Both families will be taking things slowly, and Nia said the main aim over the coming weeks and months is for the family to "feel safe" and allow the girls "to be children again".

When arranging to house refugees, there are various forms to fill for both sides, with Nia saying: "Nataliia did all the official work."

The host family, however, has been busy getting things ready at home by "arranging the bedrooms" and providing "enough beds for all".

Nia said she kept some of her own children's stuff safely over the years and has "brought down the children's old toys for the girls", adding "people around us are generous with their time and donations".

Both families said communication would be a challenge at the beginning, but Nia said she was looking forward to their journey together.

"We will use Google translate, lots of hand gestures and hopefully lots of laughs."