Yorkshire's Ukrainians come together to ask "please don't forget us"

For many, that meant the heartbreaking but necessary choice of leaving homes, jobs and above all, beloved family members behind as war rampaged.

But the past year has also seen friendships form and communities grow across Yorkshire.

That was evident this week in Hull, when friends Lena Sutherland and Beverley-based refugee, Viktoriia Zhelikhovska came together to organise an exhibition and sale of paintings by Viktoriia’s father Oleg, who works in his studio at home in Ukraine to raise money for the relief effort.

On Friday, Ms Sutherland, who runs Lena’s Ukrainian Kitchen in Hull, offered discounts all day to mark the anniversary of the invasion.

She opened the restaurant last year and in addition to serving traditional Ukrainian food she provides work for refugees and collects warm clothing and other donations to send back to her people.

Ms Zhelikhovska’s brothers, parents and husband - who is serving in the Ukrainian army - remain in the country.

She travelled from Kamianets-Podilskyi with her son Andrew.

She said: “The war is very sad and for me and my husband.

"Andrew is our motivation.

"Now he’s safe and I am going to study to Level 3 with the Royal Horticultural Society.”

“I had a message from my husband yesterday morning, every morning he tells me he’s okay, but he’s tired.

“I’m a landscape designer and gardener and in Ukraine, I worked for the city council. It’s very important to me that my son can stay here.

“I think Russia is a terrorist state. It’s terrible. Putin is an evil person. Russians who are supporting him are supporting war.”

Ms Sutherland, who has lived in Hull for 28 years, said: ““I am always optimistic but this year I am crying more and there is sorrow in my heart. For the first couple of months I couldn’t sleep and I felt anger towards Russia and Putin and people believing Russian propaganda.

“We want to remind people that the war is still going, it’s getting worse and worse and worse.

“We ask people: don’t forget people are still suffering there. They need clothing, food. The army needs help as well. They need victory, for the war stop as soon as possible.”

It’s a rallying cry heard by Barnsley businessman Henryk Matysiak, 60.

Mr Matysiak (pictured inset) hopes to set off this week as part of a convoy to deliver aid to soldiers on the front line.

It follows an aid co-ordination effort led by Mr Matysiak, whose family are Polish, last year, where nine articulated lorries worth of goods were sent over - but this is the first time he intends to enter Ukraine itself.

He told the Yorkshire Post: “We’ve raised some money to buy some vans and make up front line soldier packs. They contain lots of different equipment: eating utensils, tablets, protein, sweets, batteries, torches.

“It’s cost us about £10,000 and we’re going across into Lviv.

“We’re not daft. The recommendation from the Home Office is not to go into Ukraine, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

"There’s still a risk.”

Communications with the army have been difficult, said Mr Matysiak, and he’s had to rely on telegrams to share information.

“We’ve been struggling - phones are not working properly.

"Telegrams are the only thing that definitely gets through.

"We’re trying to get as much information as we can so we can do this.

“We felt things drop from everyone wanting to get involved in helping. I’ve been trying to raise the profile of things again.

“At the beginning of the war, I was so angry I wanted to fight.

"The least I could do was wanting to do something like this.”