A Ukrainian refugee living in homeless accommodation in a London commuter town has spoken of her plight, saying: “I have nothing to go back to.”
Mila Panchenko arrived in England almost two years ago after travelling for months from the bombed-out city of Mariupol.The 55-year-old was taken to Russia when the city was under siege before she escaped and made her way to England via a short stay in Italy.
Ms Panchenko has moved home four times since then and has been declared homeless.
She told Reuters: "At any time, they can tell me, the war is over, goodbye…
"I'm very nervous, constantly. I have nothing to go back to. I would take my suitcase, leave prosperous England where I can be useful, and where would I go?"
Ms Panchenko’s apartment block was bombed and pulled down in Mariupol, which is now occupied by Russia.The refugee is currently living in temporary accommodation run by the YMCA in Hatfield, 18 miles north of London, but feels at the mercy of the British government as she fears she could be expelled from the country.
The former local politician was first placed with a family who had volunteered to host a Ukrainian refugee in the bedroom of their grown-up son, under the Homes for Ukraine programme.
Ms Panchhenko also stayed with friends for a period but she was unable to find an affordable home and registered as homeless.
She was sent to a hostel before being moved to the YMCA shared house in Hatfield.
More than 200,000 Ukrainians are living in the United Kingdom and many worry about whether they will be allowed to settle in the long-term.
Ukrainians are four times more at risk of homelessness than other families in the country, research from the Red Cross shows.
Earlier this week the government closed a scheme allowing Ukrainians to join family members in Britain, saying it was streamlining the provision.
It has also halved the time new arrivals are allowed to stay in Britain to 18 months.
The situation is different for Ukrainian refugees already in the UK. Last week the government said it would give an 18-month extension to Ukrainian refugees whose three-year visas were due to expire next year.
But for Ms Panchenko temporary measures do little to end her fear of being expelled.
She explained her life would be different if she was offered a route to settled status, being able to pay towards a pension and have the right to live, work or study indefinitely.
The Home Office said it supported "the hope of the Government of Ukraine that their citizens will eventually return".
The government will spend £1.2 billion to help councils build or buy housing including for Ukrainians and Afghan refugees by 2026, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities added.
