A Ukrainian immigrant arrives at a friend’s flag-adorned Cambridge home

A woman who had her house painted in the colors of the Ukrainian flag said she was “very relieved” that her Ukrainian acquaintance had arrived in the UK.

Under the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, Rend Platings obtained a visa for Kristina Korniiuk, 34, of Kyiv.

On Sunday, the two were reunited at Mrs. Platings’ house in Cambridge.

“It feels really, really wonderful,” Mrs. Platings said. “It’s a little bit surreal. And it’s kind of quite hard to believe.”

Mrs. Platings, who claimed she painted her house blue and yellow to “make a statement” against the Russian invasion, had known Ms. Korniiuk for three years and they last saw each other in early February.

Ms. Korniiuk, who stayed in Kyiv for the first three weeks of the invasion before escaping to the country’s west, said that while she was glad to be in England, she would like to be in better conditions.

She expressed concern for her family in Ukraine’s capital but acknowledged that it was her parents’ decision to remain there.

“I tried really hard to convince them,” she said.

“Well, I mean we are all adults and we have responsibilities for our lives, so they decided to stay and I couldn’t convince them.”

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