Ukrainian woman reflects on journey to Marlow for Independence Day

Yev Lukash, 43, came to Marlow from the Kherson region of Ukraine in May 2022, three months after Russian forces invaded the country in a devastating escalation of the conflict between the two Eastern European powers.

She had been in touch with an old school friend who moved to Marlow with her British husband many years before and was put in contact with the Marlow Ukraine Collective, a volunteer group that has helped to find homes for nearly 300 displaced Ukrainians in the area.

Yev first came to the UK with her husband, Andri, 44, and her five children, who are aged between 20 and two years old. Thankfully, in the following months, her sisters, great-aunt, brother and parents were also able to make the journey - although her great-aunt was first trapped in a basement in Kherson for nearly four months when Russian forces descended on the city.

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Reflecting on her journey over a year from arriving in Buckinghamshire and exactly 18 months since the Russian-Ukraine conflict began, Yev said she had never felt prouder to be Ukrainian - adding that the ongoing situation in her home country "gives us the power to believe that we are brave and can do anything".

Thursday, August 24 also marked 32 years since Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union, and Yev celebrated the occasion with other Ukrainians in the area by representing their homeland through special clothing and baked goods, and by taking the time to remember the history of the country at a time when its independence is more important than ever. 

She said she feels "very lucky" to have initially found a host family near Marlow and to now be living in private accommodation with her family, but still finds it difficult to process news coverage of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

"There is pain that is always in my heart. But it's a mix of feelings - there is both pain and power. The war changed so much, but we've seen the pride people have in being Ukrainian and we can feel now the power of independence.

"Our bodies are here in the UK, but our souls are always there."

Yev credits the work of the Marlow Ukraine Collective for helping her settle into the local community and for easing the adjustment process for her and her five children, the eldest of whom has now moved into a flat in London with his partner. 

"These people really managed to change our lives. It was a miracle to get the whole family over here - I never thought it could happen. It was like a journey from hell to heaven."