UKRAINE REFUGEES: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Russia launched its military campaign against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. And on that chilly February morning a year ago, thousands managed to escape from the guns of an advancing army to the troops of volunteers ready to help them on Ukraine's borders. But the Ukrainian refugees headed to neighboring Hungary, had an anxious wait at one of the border crossings.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 2.4 million people are thought to have either fled to or through Hungary from Ukraine since Russia launched its military offensive a year ago.

Women, children and seniors rushed to train stations and border crossings to escape imminent danger. They carried only the possessions they could gather in haste as bombs began to rain down on their cities and towns.

Many Ukrainian refugees, with the help of private individuals and non-profit organizations, have since temporarily settled in Hungary.

"Here, there were lines of people waiting for help and waiting to be attended to," recalls Maurice Janssen, general manager of the Hotel Crowne Plaza, Budapest.

A humanitarian crisis

Janssen's hotel in the Hungarian capital is located next to the Nyugati train station, where hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees arrived.

"I live right on the other side of Nyugati station, so for me, it was a daily walk to work, I saw the daily need," Janssen tells CGTN.

A humanitarian crisis had landed at Janssen's doorstep, and with the help of his staff, he responded. They first brought food and water to those arriving at the train station but soon realized the refugees' needs were far greater.

"I became personally involved with a group of volunteers," he says. "They occupied an empty office building, and we converted it into sleeping halls, so there was a kitchen, but it needed food; there were beds, but they needed bedding, slippers, and essentials.

"I messaged my friends in the Netherlands and said 'I'm here, I can help directly,' and they started sending money, and with this money, I was fortunate enough to get thousands of euros, a good buddy of mine and I went to the shelter daily to see what the needs were."

As the hostilities in Ukraine continued, refugees were left with no choice but to seek employment and long-term lodging. Janssen responded by opening the doors of the hotel he runs.

He went on to hire many Ukrainian refugees to work for the hotel and gave them a room to stay until they found permanent accommodation. Some of them are still employed by the hotel.

'There is no normal anymore'

"My mother is still in Ukraine. My father and my brother left the country just as the war started. The area where I came from was not bombed like other cities, but there is no food or water," Maria Kravchuk, who works at the hotel as a housekeeper, tells CGTN.

She is grateful she has a job but hopes the conflict will end soon so she can return home.

With the help of an employment agency in Hungary, nearly 1,000 refugees found work in hotels and somewhere to live, but many still long to go back.

"When the war is finally over, it will be a bittersweet feeling because many people have died. We hope that by the end of all this, life could go back to normal, but there is no normal anymore," says Kravchuk.

The masses of people seeking food and shelter in those early weeks may be gone from Nyugati train station, but the needs of incoming refugees remain, so Janssen continues to ask: "How can I help?"

The stage is set at the Ukrainian Social Club at a Church Hall in Twickenham, the event billed as an evening of invincibility – a show of defiance exactly one year on from the start of the conflict in Ukraine.

That fight seems a world away from this riverside suburb in south-west of London, but support for the country is evident here, the hall decked with blue and yellow Ukrainian flags and dancers ironing traditional Ukrainian blouses on the sidelines.

Center stage is Kseniia Kurainna, a former professional ballerina from Kyiv, carefully rehearsing a moving performance accompanied by poignant music titled 'A Cry for Ukraine,' every elegant move tweaked to perfection by a choreographer. 

The anniversary of the beginning of the war is a timely reminder of the life Kseniia left behind. Her family is still living apart a year after the military conflict in Ukraine began.

"My family was separated. My youngest daughter is with me here, but my oldest daughter stayed in Ukraine with her father," she says. "And, of course, I really miss her. At first it was difficult, but I really appreciated my host family. They really helped me and my daughter to accommodate here and now I have a job, I'm a member of the Ukrainian Social Club and I try to everything to help my country."

Over the past year the Ukrainian community has come together with local residents to offer solidarity to refugees, as well as practical help and advice. Sofia Smirnova leads the group which is organising the event, along with her mother, Alina Luts, the Director of Ukrainian Social Club and the choreographer of Stefania dance ensemble.

"It's definitely been a really, really tough year for a lot of people," she says. "But I think this evening will really unite the two communities. There's been incredible support from the British community here in Twickenham, in London in general."

But despite the public solidarity, many aspects of life for Ukrainian refugees in the UK are still very challenging. Many struggle to find jobs, or to access government support, or childcare. Above all, finding a proper home to settle into in the long term is proving the most difficult.

The government initially helped Ukrainian refugees with a six-month private hosting scheme and while some British families have offered an extended stay, some have broken off the arrangement, leaving many Ukrainian refugees without secure shelter.

"The main issues have really been with housing," says Smirnova. "I think a lot of people's six-month period is coming to an end with their sponsors. That means they're no longer able to use their accommodation, and they're having to find alternative ways of housing."

There is no doubting the warm welcome Ukrainian refugees have received in this community, but despite that, their future remains uncertain. While an imminent return to their home country is clearly doubtful, the life change from temporary guests to settling in the UK in the long term could create even more challenges.

As Ukrainian refugees began fleeing across the border into Hungary a year ago, volunteers stepped up to help them.

Some gave them food and clothing at train stations and border crossings. Others helped the displaced with translation or opened their homes to provide them with a place to stay while they figured out their next move.

Soon after Gio Dara fled Ukraine, a volunteer gave him a guitar, an act of kindness at a difficult time. After days of traveling with his family, he reached Hungary and arrived at the home of Jeroen Van Drunen, who was sheltering Ukrainian refugees.

"When I sang, I felt that music could help in some ways because, before it, I had lost all faith," says Gio Dara.

In the early 1990s, Van Drunen worked as a Dutch diplomat in Ukraine. So when the conflict started, his immediate reaction was to help.

"Some of these people had been spending ten days traveling in a car without decent food, without heating, so we simply helped them get back to life, so to speak," he says.

With Van Drunen's help, Dara and his family relocated to London, where he continues to play music – organizing charity concerts to raise funds for those who remain in Ukraine.

Hungarian authorities say nearly thirty-four thousand Ukrainian refugees have settled in the country since the conflict began. The lines of refugees seeking food and shelter are long gone, but the need remains.

Andras Siewert runs the Migration Aid Refugee Center in Budapest, which has housed thousands of Ukrainian refugees over the past year.

Siewert says the challenges for Ukrainians and centers like his that rely on private donations are becoming more severe as the conflict drags on.

"Many refugees used up all their savings during the first months here in Hungary," says Siewert. "The needs change as the conflict continues. They first needed food and clothing. Now they need permanent housing, education, and work."

The Hungarian government gives Ukrainians who have settled in the country a monthly subsidy of around $50 per adult and $25 per child, but Siewert says more is needed.

"They can't live off what the government gives them, so they come to us for help," he says.

Some Ukrainian refugees who initially received help at this shelter now work for it.

"I fled to Hungary with my step-parents, and we stayed here for a while," said Andrea Kenez, a Ukrainian refugee. "I then volunteered to work with the children at the shelter, and now I'm a staff worker."

Kenez says she plans to study at a university in Hungary but hopes to return to Ukraine one day.

"I never thought of living here in Hungary. My heart is back home in Ukraine. That is where I see my future," said Kenez.

For Kenez – and others like her – hope has not disappeared, even as the fighting continues back at home.