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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Diane Taylor

‘People are so polite’: the Ukrainian refugee bonding with the British over borscht and chips

Valentyna Klymova with her daughter, Nataliya Rumyantseva, standing in a street in the dark
Valentyna Klymova (left) with her daughter, Nataliya Rumyantseva, in south London. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

Sharing a bowl of homemade Ukrainian borscht with your neighbours is one way to make friends in a new country, according to the first refugee to arrive in the UK after Russia invaded her country three years ago.

Ukrainian refugee Valentyna Klymova, 72, now settled in Erith in Kent, has done just that, lovingly preparing the traditional soup containing beetroot, other vegetables and meat stock, served with a dollop of sour cream and rye bread. She offers it to English people she knows and says it has had a positive reception. In turn, she has embraced quintessentially British fish and chips, although she has not yet tried to cook it at home.

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