A nine-year-old Ukrainian refugee was so traumatised by war that she didn't speak for more than a month. Milana Pankevych was stunned into silence for almost five weeks after Russia invaded her homeland.
But now the brave little girl is now living along with her 17-year-old brother Artem and mother Olena by a Trafford couple who were inspired by their family's own World War II ordeal to welcome two refugee families. Andy Gilbride and his wife Grazyna, both 56, are hosting six Ukrainian refugees in their home in Timperley and previously offered their North Wales home to Syrian refugees.
With the hostile Russian invasion of Ukraine blazing on, and more and more families fleeing the conflict, Trafford is hosting more refugees than anywhere else in Greater Manchester, with 199 visas issued for the borough through the Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme by May 3.
