Ukrainian refugee praises ‘incredible kindness’ of Derbyshire town after residents came together to furnish her new home

Zhanna Avanesian, 30, is from the city of Kharkiv, in the north east of Ukraine.

Prior to the Russian invasion, she was a master barista, as well as working in beauty salons – but Zhanna was forced to flee shortly before the war began in February.

Zhanna’s parents, Ivan and Karina, did not follow their daughter – they decided they would not leave Kharkiv. They were soon forced to take refuge in basements after their apartment was hit by shells, before even that became too dangerous.

Zhanna said: “Ten days before the start of the war, I left the country and soon realised that I could not return there, and that I had to save my parents.

“My parents left their house after it was hit by four shells and badly damaged. Many apartments burned down, they hid in basements for a long time, but soon these places also became unsafe and they could no longer be there.”

Eventually, Zhanna’s parents were able to leave Kharkiv, joining her in Poland after a perilous journey. They endured a long wait to see if they would be able to travel to the UK – not believing that their application would be successful.

Zhanna said: “The path was dangerous because my parents left while the area was being shelled. They only managed to take documents and not a lot of warm clothes with them. They travelled to Warsaw, and on the way they were provided with food and drinks by valiant volunteers.

“They were met there and settled by a volunteer from Poland, Michal, who provided them with housing and everything they needed. For nearly two months, while we were waiting for the visa to open, they lived with Michal – after the visa was opened, we immediately flew to England, where we were met by our sponsors.

“The hardest thing was to wait, as we didn’t fully believe that this was possible. Of course, it was difficult to return our parents to a normal life, because they always reacted to loud sounds and aircraft flying overhead as if it was something dangerous.”

Zhanna and her parents were sponsored by a family from Bolsover, who they stayed with when they first arrived in the UK at the end of April. She said that they were worried – especially given that her parents struggle with the English language – but her sponsors could not have been more supportive.

“We were very worried, especially my parents – they had to leave their native lands and start everything from scratch for the third time, and they are already at an age where not knowing the language caused confusion.

“Our sponsors are my friend's family, and they sheltered us – and we were lucky that my friend's mother speaks Russian, which calmed my parents.

“Her husband does not know Russian at all, but he turned out to be a very kind and cheerful man and we quickly found a common language. We were met, sheltered, and provided with everything necessary – I am extremely grateful to them.”

Zhanna also said that she and her family have been welcomed warmly by the people of Bolsover. Residents of the town even came together to furnish their new house, which had been provided by their sponsors – and Zhanna said their kindness had been incredible.

“We were pleasantly surprised by how polite everyone is in Bolsover. They always smile and say hello, and you also have an incredibly beautiful land. Looking at all this, it is difficult to feel unhappy – it gives us the strength to move forward.

“The humanity of your people was confirmed after a nice lady from Bolsover recommended that I write a post in a Facebook group, to say that we were moving into a house provided by our sponsors and that we were looking for furniture.

“People living in Bolsover have provided us with everything necessary – it's just incredible. People brought us furniture, clothes and everything we needed – I don't know what we would do without them.

“We want to express our deep gratitude to your people for their support, their kindness, for their helping hand and kind words of support in such difficult times. I am sure that my parents and I will quickly adapt to a new life and soon we will feel at home.

“Now I understand why England is ahead of the rest, because people living here are happy and easily share their positivity and kindness with others.”