Ukrainian Refugee’s Third Christmas in the UK

A Ukrainian woman who has sought asylum in the UK expressed conflicting emotions regarding the celebration of Christmas away from her native country. Svetlana Tseneko resides in Maidenhead with her adolescent daughter, while her husband remains in Ukraine. Initially, she stayed in Windsor with a host family before securing her own residence in Maidenhead. This will be her third Christmas observed in Berkshire since her departure from Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of the nation in February 2022. Svetlana stated: “Christmas is Christmas but it’s difficult. It’s [mixed] feelings.” She continued: “First of all you want to celebrate, [but] you feel absolutely sorry for the ones who aren’t at home and aren’t with their families.” She added: “There are a lot of [those] people on the front line at the moment.” Svetlana, whose daughter has now settled into a local school, indicated that prioritizing the festive cheer of Christmas was optimal for her family. She remarked: “You still have to live in the moment and you still have children who want [to] party, who want the presents.” She further added: “We’re all trying to stay optimistic that [the war] will end soon.” “That’s the only Christmas wish for the Ukrainian country at the moment”.” Mick Polleck, from the Reading Ukrainian Community Centre, reported that some Ukrainian children residing in Berkshire had the opportunity to observe their cultural traditions earlier in the current month. He commented: “We had St Nicholas come to Reading School and give presents to all the children,”. He also mentioned that the centre was dispatching four vehicles laden with supplies to Ukraine, among which was assistance designated for an orphanage situated close to the front line.