Displaced Ukrainians: “I can’t sleep.”

Some troubled Ukrainians who find it “unbearable” to leave their families are being helped to rebuild their lives.

Charity Welcome Hubs offers English lessons and has since helped some of the 1,200 refugee Ukrainians who arrived in Somerset find work Russian troops invaded their homeland in February 2022.

Kateryna Titova, who is originally from Kiev but now lives in Taunton, said: “I can’t sleep properly through the night. It’s an unbearable situation.”

She said her life was improved by painting regularly and hosting exhibitions set up by the center.

The former drama teacher’s mother and brother remained in Ukraine.

“It’s very difficult,” she said. “When I think about it, it feels like a panic attack.”

Ms Titova said her host family and the local community in Taunton had been “very welcoming” since her arrival.

At the centre, run by refugee charity CHARIS and supported by Somerset Council, she is taking an advanced English course to improve her skills – something she says she will “always be grateful for”.

“It is very difficult to express myself because of my language.

“Now that I’m an artist, it’s good – I can express myself without words,” she said.

Igor Gorbatenko fled Kharkiv and embarked on a two-month journey to Britain before settling in Taunton.

The former theater director was also supported by the hub, where he takes English lessons.

Thanks to the center’s staff, the enthusiastic historian and actor has now also secured a voluntary position at Somerset Museum.

“I am very happy. “I have very good colleagues and they are very friendly,” he said.

Alex Melbourne, the hub’s program manager, said the charity wanted to give people “everything” they needed.

Mr Melbourne said it had been “wonderful” to see Ms Titova and Mr Gorbatenko settling into Taunton.

“People across Somerset have opened their hearts to Ukrainians to offer them a home and some stability as they try to pick up the pieces of their lives and move on.”

According to government figures, around 180,000 Ukrainian refugees moved to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which was launched at the time Russian troops invaded their homeland in February 2022.