Ukrainian family find refuge in Dingwall after traumatic departure from homeland following Russian invasion
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A Ukrainian woman who fled the war with her family has said she is now able to smile again after finding refuge in Dingwall with her host.
But Ross-shire’s county town has provided Mariia and Misha Budunkevych and their two children, Sonya and Dima, with some peace despite the anguish of the ongoing war and deep uncertainty about the future.
A lot of the credit for that peaceful start to their lives in Scotland is down to local piano teacher and musician Tonya Clement and her family who have given them a warm welcome. The two woman say they are like sisters.
“We had a video call and she was very tentative, still trying to decide, she didn’t want to be a burden and as we were speaking I could actually hear jets flying over and basically from then on I said right, let’s do it.”
Tonya says that the local people have been fantastic and the outpouring of support has been touching, she said: “Acquaintances of mine were knocking on the door bringing gifts for the children, it was quite emotional.”
But the trauma of the first days of the war hangs heavy over Mariia Budunkevych as rockets and bombs struck military infrastructure near her home as people desperately bought food and withdrew cash.
Asked how she feels in Scotland, she said: “We are here in peace and quiet and I started laughing again.
“It is a very difficult question because we do not know what will happen in the future. Everything is difficult for us.We simply do not know. It is very difficult for me.”
Becoming upset, she remembered February 24, the night of the Russian invasion: “About 4am we started hearing the jets, and we thought that is not good and then I opened my phone and said the war started.
“People ran to get out cash, to buy food, we were hearing firing, and smoke and we didn’t know what to do or where to run – this night I will never forget. There were rockets flying over us from Belorussia.
“We had a large aviation fuel storage depot nearby and the airport nearby was hit several times, people died there. Then everything calmed down and then it would start again. I don’t know what to say.”
She held on for a while, after spending some nights sheltering in basements, before moving but she says the reason she had to go in the end was simple: “For the children – to give them the peace they need.”
Tonya picks up the thread: “When this all started it was shock and horror, like your world being turned upside down and it was not something I thought would ever happen.
“I thought a lot of it was just a muscle flexing exercise and when it happened to the extent that it did it was just an absolute shock. It is just crazy. It is horrible.
“I was devastated. I have never had anything like this before and this is what I thought about doing and my husband was thinking about this too and I mentioned it and we agreed we would.
“I found a Facebook group trying to match hosts and sponsors and I made one post and explained where we are, and a day later I had a message from Mariia.
“We had a video call and she was very tentative, still trying to decide, she didn’t want to be a burden and as we were speaking I could actually hear jets flying over and basically from then on I said right, let’s do it.”
The women say they are like one big family now with the household now comprising Mrs Clement, her husband and two children, mother in law as well as four dogs as well as the three Budunkevychs.
They are not just settling in with Tonya but also in Dingwall itself the children are attending school at Dingwall Primary and everyone starts the process of learning English.
Her husband, Misha, arrived later than she did but he was also able to find a place to stay in the Dingwall area as well as a job at Keltic Seafare while Mariia is due to start work at the Drover’s Rest cafe at the Mart.
Work, says Mariia, is important because she does not want to be a freeloader and also for the simpler reason is that she does not want to stay at home all day doing nothing.
