They look like ordinary excited schoolchildren visiting London. But these are war-weary Ukrainian teenagers on a break from the horrors of their homeland – ten days which could scarcely be more precious.
They are the ‘children of heroes’, many of whom have lost a parent fighting Putin’s invasion. And they have spent the past week in the UK recovering from this ongoing hell – a life-changing trip made possible only thanks to the kindness of Daily Mail readers who donated to our Mail Force Ukraine Appeal.
These 24 teenagers, aged 13 to 17, have swapped their bomb-shelter classrooms in the eastern frontline city of Kharkiv for a few days in the tranquil English countryside, in Kent, where they have forged lifelong friendships and attended trauma workshops. And on Tuesday they rounded off their trip with a sightseeing tour of London – including a visit to Downing Street where they met the Prime Minister.
None of the youngsters knew each other before this special ‘Rehabilitation Trip’ run by the London-based St Mary’s Trust and funded by Mail Force.
But 14-year-old Dasha Kuzhietsova spoke for them all when she said: ‘Here on this trip we have all made friends. One night we all just sat together and cried.’
Maria Tieterina, Victoria Syzonova and Dasha Kuzhietsova, who are 14-year-old Ukrainian ‘children of heroes’ on a rehabilitation visit to Britain funded by generous Daily Mail readers
The youngsters, many of whom have lost a parent, have attended trauma workshops but also had a day sightseeing in London
The Ukrainian children and their teachers were in high spirits after being invited to Downing Street for a brief tour in which they bumped into the Prime Minister on the stairs
Speaking in near-flawless English (she dreams of being a translator), Dasha told me how her mother Olga died when two of the Kremlin’s bombs struck her building, nowhere near the frontline.
She says: ‘My father said the first bomb made her sleep. The second killed her. My father and my brother can’t bear to look at photos of her, but I can, and they say I’m the strongest one in the family. I don’t want that distinction.’
It is being in England, away from the misery, and supported by trauma experts, that has enabled these children to share some of the most hideous feelings anyone could have.
Yesterday, as I chatted to Ksaniia Zhylka, 16, in the Golden Gallery at the very top of St Paul’s Cathedral, she disclosed: ‘I have a mother, a little sister and I have a dad. He is a soldier. But I don’t know where he is. I was the last person who saw my dad, on January 13, 2023. I think about him all the time. I get emotional thinking about it. Actually I haven’t told my horrible story to anyone until now.’
Tears well up in Ksaniia’s blazing blue eyes. Her teacher, Victoria, who is helping translate, also starts weeping as she says: ‘This is the first time I heard this.’
Ksaniia Zhylka, 16, who last saw her soldier father on January 13, 2023, pictured in St Paul’s Cathedral during a sightseeing tour as part of a rehabilitation programme
The children unfurled two flags as they posed for this photo for the Daily Mail outside the Tower of London
A classroom in Kharkiv, where the children are from, which was completely destroyed by a bomb sent by Kremlin warmonger Vladimir Putin
Our Mail Force Ukraine Appeal raised millions of pounds to help innocent Ukrainians
HOW TO HELP
Ukrainian St Mary’s Trust in London
Donations by generous Daily Mail readers to our Mail Force Ukraine Appeal helped to pay for these children to come to Britain for this hugely successful rehabilitation trip, which was organised by St Mary’s Ukrainian Trust in London.
Two further trips are planned, but the Mail Force money only covers part of the next trip, and further donations to St Mary’s are needed to ensure the next two trips can go ahead.
To make a donation, click here.
For more information, visit the St Mary’s Ukrainian School website
Like all of them, Ksaniia is deeply grateful to Britain and the Daily Mail’s readers. She says: ‘I have made a lot of good friends here. The British people have opened their hearts and given us their big smiles, and I will forever hold the memories of the peace.’
Inna Hryhorovych, executive director of St Mary’s Trust, says: ‘I have never felt anything like this. Ten days is not a lot, but it is ten days without sirens, without shelling, without people around them being killed.’
I spoke to Maria Tietierina, 14. The date when her father Volodymyr was killed by a landmine is etched on her young mind: July 31, 2022. Her mother now wants her to be a doctor.
Sofia Babenko, 13, told me of her pride in her hero father Oleksander, a fireman who helps dig people out of the rubble of bombed buildings. She says matter-of-factly: ‘They are not always alive.’
After our interview, she says: ‘I want to tell you. I believe in the Ukraine army. I hope that victory will come very soon.’
Yana Shevets, 14, who lost her father who was fighting on the frontline, says the British visit has made her feel more positive, adding: ‘It is important for my future and the future of my country.’
Children such as Victoria Syzonova, 14, whose father is also on the frontline, told me: ‘In London, a city without bombs and sirens, I can go from midnight ’til the morning and sleep all night.’
Yesterday, we accompanied them visiting St Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London and Downing Street, where they met Sir Keir Starmer.
The PM said: ‘I want to thank the Daily Mail’s readers for their unwavering support for Ukraine. These children are the future of Ukraine, and in the shadow of war, their courage truly shines through. It was a privilege to host them.’
Meeting a Beefeater at the Tower of London, which has a poignant display of ceramic poppies to commemorate the dead from world wars
Dasha Kuzhietsova, 14, Maria Tieterina, 14, Victoria Syzonova, 14, outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London
Sofia Babenko, 13, with Yana Shevets, 14, after climbing to the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London
Vitaly Viechorkin, 14, told me: ‘London is big and beautiful, and it is a place without sirens and bombs and drones. But Kharkiv is my home and, even during war, nothing beats home’
Denys and Kseniia hold flags of the UK and Ukraine at the Tower of London
Nastya, 14, Nastia, 14, and Kseniia, 15, getting off a London bus at Tower Bridge
Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying hello to Ukrainian school students in 10 Downing Street
The children listened as Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to them on the stairs of No.10 inbetween meetings
The Ukrainian children were joyful after being given a brief tour of Downing Street and bumping into Sir Keir Starmer on the No.10 stairs
Inna Hryhorovych, whose tireless work for the London-based St Mary’s Ukrainian Trust has made the trip possible, pictured in Downing Street after the children met the Prime Minister
The children have been staying in Dover, Kent, where they had plenty of fresh air and the chance to swap stories about their lives. Many of them have lost a parent in the war
Bombed-out classrooms in Kharkiv where the children are from. They swapped their bomb-shelter schools for a precious 10-day rehabilitation break in Britain
A school in Kharkiv bombed by the Kremlin during its savage invasion of Ukraine
Mrs Hryhorovych added: ‘These ten days have been transformational. The hardest part is when you get them talking, and then they speak of their parents in the present tense… and then they catch themselves, and there’s that sudden realisation.
‘Back in Kharkiv, they can’t have discos or social gatherings. But here we danced with them on Saturday night. Tonight, I am putting them on a plane back there – and I feel so scared for them. But for them it is home.’
Vitaly Viechorkin, 14, told me: ‘London is big and beautiful, and it is a place without sirens and bombs and drones. But Kharkiv is my home and, even during war, nothing beats home.’
Thanks to our readers, these 24 children – tonight travelling back to Ukraine – have been gifted a vital fresh lease of life.
Further visits are planned, but more funding is needed.
