A refugee has spoken about her experiences after fleeing war-torn Ukraine.
Daria Bryan and her daughter Katie fled Kyiv as the invasion started with just a few possessions in a suitcase. Her husband Steven, who is from Southport, was back in the UK at the time applying for a permanent visa to live in Ukraine.
Before Daria was forced to leave her home she had been an accomplished violinist who has performed in venues all over the world with her twin sister, Ekaterina Golovko. Her violin was one of the only possessions she was able to take with her.
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Daria travelled from Romania to Germany before finally arriving in England where she is now trying to rebuild her life in Southport with her husband. She wonders when it will be safe to return home - or if they will have a home to return to.
Daria, 33, said: "Steven came to Southport so he could apply for his permanent visa for Ukraine. We were worried about the situation with the build-up of Russian troops. But I said ‘it is not going to happen’. Then it did.
“It was 5am, 3am English time, when the war started. I had an emergency suitcase ready just in case, which I had prepared two weeks in advance, but I never thought it would actually happen.
“At 7am we were trying to leave Kyiv, but the traffic was unbelievable. We were in traffic for seven hours, barely moving. In the car, we had my daughter, my parents, my sister, my nephew, and Billy, their pet chihuahua.
“The scariest moment in my life was seeing a rocket falling near us and exploding. But no one was moving very fast because of so many cars on the road. We thought ‘we can’t leave Kyiv today, we have to go back’."
Daria said her family then took refuge in a basement in Kyiv eventually heading to the West of Ukraine as Russian troops steadily moved into the north, east, and south of the country. She said: “We were trying to get across the border to anywhere we could - Poland, Romania, Moldova, Hungary. The queue to get in was seven days long.
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“We got near the border with Romania and we just left our car where it was and walked. We would have been five days in the car if we had stayed in it. Finally, we got there."
After staying in Romania for two days she travelled to Germany where she waited for her visa application to be processed. During her time in Germany, Daria and her sister performed a concert to raise money for people affected by the war in Ukraine.
Daria who is originally from Kharkiv said: “It took us two and a half weeks to get our visa for the UK. When we flew into Manchester Airport, there were real problems with translation.
"At Passport Control, staff couldn’t speak Russian or Ukrainian. I gave what help I could to people to translate what they were saying so the officials could understand.”
Daria is now living in Southport with her husband and their daughter. Steven is from the area and the two married in 2015 after meeting on the cruise ships.
They are currently living with Steven's family while they wait to see if they can ever return home. Steven, 42, said: “The people of Southport have been amazing. There have been so many fundraising events held here to help people in Ukraine.
“We have had friends who have donated toys, clothes, and books to us. The nursery where we got our daughter into was fully booked, but they managed to find a place for us because of our circumstances."
Daria and her sister are looking to stage a fundraising event in Munich on 18th-20th May, and are keen to do what they can to help any families fleeing Ukraine and looking to settle in the Southport area.
Daria said: “We just want to give something back. We want to do what we can to help people affected by the war in Ukraine.”
