It’s a year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began (24 February 2022). Inga Zamolynska (above), outpatient patient experience coordinator at our Trust, and proud Ukrainian, has shared how things are for her and her loved ones 12 months on.

Inga, who moved to the UK in 2004, still has family and friends living in Ukraine, cousins with children she has never met, including a baby born at the start of the conflict, and recently heard about the death of a college friend who was fighting in the war.

She said: “He was one of the kindest people I knew and leaves behind a two-year-old, it’s horrible. The worst thing is how living in a war zone has become normal, my relatives tell me how children are so used to hearing sirens to shelter, they’re sleeping through them.

“Russians have been firing rockets near to the town where I lived and recently knocked down a five-storey building. Schools have bomb shelters; people have lost everything; thousands have died, including hundreds of children. I get very emotional when I think of people losing their kids, it feels so far away, I can only empathise.”

Inga herself has two children, daughter Elleanor, 13, and Noah, five. The last time she was in Ukraine was when Elleanor was just five and she longs to go back to her home country.

She said: “I’m looking forward to going home, I don’t know when and I know war will have changed the places and the people, but I am 100 per cent confident it will happen.

“I want to show my children how beautiful it is and see my family and friends. It will be an emotional homecoming, but I can’t wait. I am proud to be Ukrainian, my people are so united, the best has come out of the worst times. We will not give up our land, we didn’t go into anyone else’s, we just want to be an independent country.”

At the start of the invasion, Inga was able to get her mum, Hanna, 73, safely from her home in Ukraine, to live with her family here. Knowing what others have lost, Inga is hugely grateful for simple opportunities to spend time with her mum, like chatting after dinner.

She added: “Mum is doing really well, she’s happy to be around her grandkids, she’s even teaching Noah Ukrainian. She didn’t want to leave and wanted to visit home last summer but I just want her safe, that’s all that matters.

“We enjoy mother-daughter chats after dinner and I feel so lucky to have that, when so many families have lost loved ones.”

Having organised a fundraising bake sale for those affected by the conflict last year, Inga continues to donate supplies to help those back home. Medicines, bandages, plasters and non-perishable food are some of the most sought after items. Inga’s Ukrainian neighbour collects donations to be sent home. 

Read our story from when we first spoke to Inga at the start of the invasion.