Ukrainian woman living in Bolton shares experiences of visiting home

Olena Bielieskova, 43, and her daughter Mariia, 15, fled Sumy in Ukraine, 45km from the border of Russia, on February 24 last year when the invasion began.

They now live together in Bolton.

Olena said: “Before the war, life was normal, people went to work, children went to school and kindergarten, everyone was happy.

“I had a job as an administrator in a dental practice, we had everything we needed, and I had my own apartment.

“And then on February 24, we were told we needed to leave at six in the morning.

“My friend from work called me and said Olena get up, start packing.

“I woke up my daughter, and I called my sister.

“My sister and her husband came to us, and it took me seven minutes to pack my case and go, there were eight people in our car who left.

“There were long queues at gas stations, people began to think that it was war.

“We were all in shock, we thought it would be a week or two and we thought it was a misunderstanding.

“But the information that was given to me, it was terrible, they said that Russians had broke through the border.

“There were 16 customs officers there and Russian soldiers drove by in tanks and shot them all and they died.

“My colleague's husband works in the very centre of Sumy, and he saw it on video cameras.

Mariia with uncle Mykola Bielieskov, aunty Iryna Bielieskova and mum Olena Bielieskova (Image: Olena Bielieskova)

“After we left, we went onto Poland, then to Germany and then into the UK.

“We arrived here in June last year, it took us four months from leaving Ukraine to get to Bolton as we were waiting for a visa in Germany.

“It is very difficult to explain how it made me feel because I had my child with me and there was a lot of uncertainty, and my parents stayed in the territory of Ukraine, and we believed it would end. Well, that is, until May.

“From May onwards reality kicked in that we wouldn’t be able to go back.

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“We thought about the next steps, but we still hoped and to this day we still hope that it will be over tomorrow.

“It is a very big trauma for us and our children and future generations.”

Olena and Mariia recently went back to Ukraine on August 7 to August 23 to visit their relatives including Olena’s parents.

Speaking about why she wanted to go back, she said: “It is very hard to be in a foreign country and it is hard to be far from one's homeland.

“At home before the war, I was planning everything for the future, for my child and in a second it all came crashing down.

Mariia hugging her grandparents (Image: Olena Bielieskova)

“It was scary to return being so close to the Russian border, but it is very difficult to hold back.

“We wanted to see our family who are still there and thankfully they are all still alive."

Olena spoke about the situation over there, she said: “Being there was traumatic and in the streets, you could see lots of women and children but not many men.

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“The buildings and schools that they have got there are being used as medical centres and the Russians know where they are and send over the rockets, it is very scary.

“They want to wipe Ukraine off the face of the earth.

“When we had just arrived in the city of Romny, within 20 minutes a rocket fell right into the school, where the school was already prepared to receive children, and killed four principals, a librarian, and a secretary there.

“Where we live, Sumy, is the largest territory that borders the Russian territory and there is attack after attack.

“Every day there are artillery attacks, there is anything between 100 to 200 rocket attacks everyday.

“Safety is paramount to everybody now.”

Speaking about her family who still live in Ukraine, Olena said: “My parents say they have come to terms with it.

Mariia with grandparents, Ludmyla and Dmytro (Image: Olena Bielieskova)

“My daughter Mariia has begged her grandparents to move to the west of Ukraine or move to England because she is worried about their safety.

“It was difficult to leave because I don’t know if we will see each other again."

Olena said she hopes she will be able to return to Ukraine permanently when it is safe.

She said: “Ukraine is my country, my love and we are uncertain when we will go back but we will."

Olena said she is thankful for the support they have received, including from her sponsor family.

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at chloe.wilson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @chloewjourno.