A teenager who fled the war in Ukraine has told of her heartbreak at losing her father who stayed behind in their home near Kyiv. Yuliia Batrak, 17, arrived in Wales last year with her mother Liudmyla and sister Alona, seven, to live with sponsors.
Father Andrii and brother Sacha, now 25, remained in Ukraine where Sacha volunteers for the military. Earlier this year Andrii, who worked as a chauffeur before the Russian invasion, died, aged 50 from cancer after a very short illness.
Now Yuliia is planning to travel back to Ukraine to honour her dad’s memory at her delayed school prom paid for in part with her winnings from a college prize in Wales. It will be a bittersweet day for the Coleg Llandrillo student because she always dreamed her father would be there.
