As they smile for the camera Maryna Demianenko and Alyona Lykhosherstova’s hearts are silently breaking for loved ones left behind in wartorn Ukraine.
The stunning models both sought asylum in Scotland after Russia invaded their country, destroyed their cities and started murdering their friends and neighbours.
In a bid to help their families financially, the girls made the heartbreaking decision to leave the Ukraine and find modelling work in a safer country.
The duo, who have done shoots all over the world, are now signed to Scotland’s top agency Colours who are trying to get them as much work as they possibly can with clients.
It’s been a year since the invasion and Maryna, 26, whose family are trapped inside Russian occupied territory and Alyona, 21, whose grandmother stayed behind when the rest of her loved ones fled to Poland, are now ready to tell their harrowing stories to ensure the world does not forget the hell the people of Ukraine are still going through.
Alyona was on a modelling job in Turkey when the bombs started to fall on her home city of Kharkiv in the northeast of the country on February 24, 2022 and her terrified teenage brother phoned to say goodbye.
She said: “When the invasion began I received a call at 5am from my family who feared they may not make it out alive. My 14-year-old brother came on the phone to tell me he loved me and that he was going to die. He was basically saying goodbye to me. It was heartbreaking.
“Bombing was happening so quickly that everyone was terrified to leave their homes for food or water. The infrastructure of the city was completely destroyed with the initial bombings and people were desperately looking for food and somewhere safe to shelter.
“Three days in and the Russians were targeting civilians who were standing in line for water. Whole families were being killed and blood was flowing in a stream down the streets. I knew I had to get my family out.”
Alyona added: “I started phoning around people I heard who were willing to evacuate families from areas that had been bombed. Out of all of the hundreds of people I made contact with, only one person was willing to go into the city and take my mother and brother to a train station.”
“They queued for days for the train with hundreds of other people and when they eventually made it on to the train, they had to stand for two full days before making it to Poland. The trauma for the elderly and young children was horrendous. Everyone had fled their bombed homes in the clothes they were standing in and they had no other possessions with them. They all had to run for their lives.
“My family are now settled in Poland and have been looked after and cared for by the Polish government and several charities. The feel very lucky to have escaped with their lives but they have lost so much in the process. People have nothing left. They had to leave behind family, friends, pets, and all possessions. Our hearts are broken with everything we have lost. My grandmother is still in Kharkiv and I worry about her every day.
Maryna was at home with her husband in the southeastern city of Melitopol when the bombing and shelling began on February 25, 2022.
She said: “We decided to leave when our city was occupied by Russian soldiers. People fought heroically with their bare hands, protested, went to rallies, but they began to kidnap people and threaten everyone.
“Russia began to block our communications and the internet. We were cut off from the world and could not contact relatives. It was just horrific.
“We knew we had to leave Ukraine when they began taking our men of military age and sending them to the front to die. We learned the UK were offering asylum and we decided to apply.”
She added: “Leaving my family was the hardest decision of my life. I cried every day. But my parents said we were still young and needed to live. I worry that every day might be their last.
“We communicate every day. My parents are pensioners and they try as much as possible to live the same life but in our region, the authorities and laws have changed. Russian soldiers can enter any house and start living there, driving people out. My whole family now lives in occupied territory. The Russians have blocked all the exits. It’s terrifying.
“Last March, Russian soldiers killed my husband’s best friend in Bucha. They shot him while he was volunteering and delivering food to an animal shelter. He was just 28-years-old. Every day we hear of more men and women and children who have been killed.”
What makes it even more upsetting for Alyona is that some of her extended family are Russian and refuse to believe our country has been invaded.
She said: “Many of the family on the Russian side are convinced there has been no invasion of the Ukraine. They believe that it’s all western propaganda and refuse to believe atrocities have been committed.
“They are constantly finding civilian mass graves in the former occupied territories. The corpses of people are found with their hands tied and shots in the head. These are the corpses of young men, grandparents, children and women.”
Maryna added: “The war has fallen out of the headlines but life is still as horrific for our families. That’s why it is so important for Alyona and me to tell our stories.
“The Ukrainians are fighting with all their might but we also need the support and attention of people because the whole world should know what Russia is doing and fight it. It’s not humane.”
Maryna and Alyona came to Scotland under the programme to help Ukrainians with temporary asylum. Alyona had the finances to rent an apartment herself and Maryna and her husband live with a sponsor in Glasgow.
They have both had positive experiences and said the people of Scotland and the modelling industry have given them a warm welcome.
Alyona, who is studying at the Karazin Kharkiv National University via Zoom, said: “The Scots have been incredibly welcoming and have given me a lot of moral support. The minute I arrived I started looking for an agency and as soon as I met with Colours I knew they were an amazing team. I have modelled all over the world for campaigns and brands and am enjoying working in Scotland. The only minus is the weather.”
Maryna, who has been modelling since she was 19 when she lived in the capital Kyiv, added: “I have worked with some well known Ukrainian brands and have modelled abroad. I just love working in Scotland and hope I will keep getting jobs so I can keep sending money home to my family.
“I do love it here in Glasgow and our fabulous sponsor has now become our best friend but my biggest desire is for the war to end so that people stop dying and survivors can return to their families and live a calm and happy life in a strong and independent state. And of course, more than anything in the world, I want to see and hug my mother.”
Alison Bruce of Colours said: “They are amazing human beings who are managing enormous emotional trauma whilst working and surviving the day to day of a new country and life. We have so much respect for them and they’re ability to build a new life here in Scotland.
“I feel very humble when we speak to them about the world of modelling and fashion, but they really need as much support and strength as possible to build a new life here in Glasgow and I’m hoping that helping them gain more working opportunities will build their network and allow them to send money to their displaced families. I believe that sharing their stories is a stark reminder of what’s still happening in Ukraine.”
