Viktoria’s Story: Starting a new life in the UK

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Ukrainecast has been following the story of Viktoria Kovalenko, whose husband and 12-year-old daughter Veronika were killed in front of her when they tried to escape from the besieged town of Chernihiv in the early days of the war. After weeks of hiding in bunkers, Viktoria and her surviving baby daughter Varvara eventually managed to find their way to Poland. Viktoria’s dream was to get to the UK to start a new chapter for Varvara. After 191 days of waiting for a visa, they, together with Viktoria’s brother, finally arrived in England and came into the Ukrainecast studio. In an emotional meeting with Victoria Derbyshire, Viktoria talks about loss, hope and why she could never leave Ukraine permanently. This episode of Ukrainecast was made by Ivana Davidovic. Alison Gee is the assistant editor. The technical producer was Emma Crowe. The editor is Jonathan Aspinwall. Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 0330 1239480.