Good Evening We Are From Ukraine - Frankie Mills Photography

Good Evening, We Are From Ukraine

Two years ago, Brits were asked to host Ukrainian refugees for six months. Some of them are still living together today.

Since Russia’s invasion, 147,500 Ukrainians have arrived in the UK under the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme. It’s the first time since World War II that the British public have welcomed refugees into their homes en masse.

In April 2022, Valentyna Romanchuk escaped from Kharkiv, Ukraine, as Russian forces encircled her city. She landed in Moorhaven; a remote village in rural Devon surrounded by barren moorland on one side and rolling countryside on the other.

After Valentyna came others. I began photographing the emerging Ukrainian community in this tight knit village, hoping to understand how two such distinct parts of the world had collided. I wanted to know how people built a home again after leaving everything behind and what it was like to move into the home of a stranger in a forgotten part of the UK, within a community that voted to leave the EU.

Gradually, the story evolved into a study of how, in spite of the UK government’s ‘hostile environment’ policies and the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment, both sides benefit when we are open to difference.

Of the sponsors who participated, 80% said they were glad they did. Another 70% said they would host again and be open to receiving someone from Ukraine or Afghanistan (at the time Afghan refugees faced homelessness in the UK). The war in Ukraine has seen seven times the amount of people come into Europe than during the 2015 migration crisis, but without the same political backlash or number of fatalities en route.

What happened in this village rewrites the resounding anti-immigrant narrative that has been coming out of Britain over the last decade. Over the two years I spent documenting this community, the people I photographed — both the refugees and their British hosts — showed me that there is a real possibility for belonging, healing, and humor after war, if people are received with empathy. When given the opportunity and resources to care for others, people will open their homes to those in need.

The title is taken from a song that has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance since the invasion. They are also a testament to the imprint this small community has left on an otherwise quiet, remote place.

Friends. [left to right] Friends Olena Bilokrenytska, Paulina Bilokrenytska, Valentyna Romanchook, Tanya Drobot, and Valeriya Viunskovska pictured on Dartmoor after their first summer in the UK, September, 2022.

Home. Jane Hitchings pictured with Paulina Bilokrenytska and daughter Olena Bilokrenytska eating dinner in their garden on a summer evening, Ivybridge, June, 2023.

Blackberries. Matvi picks blackberries in his sponsors garden during his first summer in the UK. Bittaford, June, 2022.

Birthday. Friends Tanya Drobot and Paulina Bilokrenytska pictured on the birthday of Paulina's daughter. Ivybridge, January, 2023.

"So, in Devon, in the first weeks of life here, everything around us was not perceived as real. It seemed like a movie and unreal, from some parallel world, in which every small detail of everyday life and existing here was to be compared with home. That would help us feel at least a little more confident."

Valentyna Romanchook

8th September 2022

Moorhaven. A view Moorhaven, the tiny village of the edge of the open moorland Dartmoor that became the home of dozens of Ukrainian refugees. December, 2023.

Coronation. Paulina Bilokrenytska & Olena Bilokrenysta pictured with their sponsor Jonathon Hitchings at a street fair for the King's Coronation in Ivybridge, Devon, May 2023.

Swim. Artem Kovtsun photographed entering his sponsors swimming pool in Lukesland House, Ivybridge, after his first few weeks in the UK, August, 2022.

Food. A spread made by Valentyna in her new home in Plymouth. December, 2023.

Kitchen. Olena & Paulina Bilokrenytska pictured in their sponsors kitchen in Ivybridge, Devon, January 2023.

Sunrise. Tanya Drobot & Valentyna Romanchook climb a small mound on Dartmoor at sunrise midwinter, Moorhaven, January, 2023.

Pyjamas. Tanya Drobot pictured in bed at her sponsors home, Moorhaven, April, 2023.

Tea. Sponsors Jonathon & Jane drink tea with Polina and Olena in their garden in Ivybridge, Devon. July 2023.

Independence Day. Olga Mariaa Toms photographed at her English language school on Ukrainian Independence Day, Plymouth, 2023.

Birthday. Matvi Popko on his sixth birthday after three weeks in the UK, Bittaford, August, 2022.

"The hardest part began when the first impression and euphoria began to dissolve into the everyday small worries and problems with paperwork. A sober look at a magical country in which almost everything from the language to the daily habits of the inhabitants is not clear"

Valentyna Romanchook

8th September 2022

Christmas. Tanya Drobot prepares a meal for her sponsors, Moorhaven December, 2022.

Ihor & Dima. Partners Ihor & Dima sat together on the banks of the River Dart in Dartington, Totnes, on a summers afternoon. August, 2023.

Sundown. Valentyna Romanchook pictured on Dartmoor near her sponsor’s home in Moorhaven after three months in the UK. September, 2022.

Christmas II. Paulina Bilokrenytska and daughter Olena Bilokrenytska pictured at celebrations for Ukrainian Christmas in St Pauls Church Hall, Paignton, January, 2023.

Home II. Alla Kovtsun pictured with her daughter at home in Lukesland House, Ivybridge, May, 2023.

Stable. Anastasia pictured in her sponsors stable during her first summer in the UK. June, 2022.

Choir. Olga Mariaa Toms [center] & Valentyna Romanchook [third from right] gathered with friends rehearsing Ukrainian songs.

Ice Cream. Paulina & Tanya queue for ice cream by Paignton Pier. July, 2023.

Conversation Paulina Bilokrenystka speaks with her sponsor Jonathon Hitchings over a translation app after 17 months of living together. December, 2023.

Moving. Valentyna Romanchook photographed on the first day of her new home in Plymouth, June, 2023.

"To squeeze out the mentality of one's homeland one drop at a time is an experience."

Valentyna Romanchook

8th September 2022

School. Artem Kovstun photographed amongst a group of school friends in Ivybridge, Devon, after living in the UK for over a year. December, 2023.

"Perhaps this is called war trauma. When you don't feel neither space around you, nor time"

Valentyna Romanchook

8th September 2022

Bedroom. Paulina Bilokrenytska photographed in her sponsors spare bedroom in Ivybridge, Devon, UK.

Unpacked. Matvi Popko and grandmother photographed in their sponsors spare bedroom after recently arriving to the UK.

Garden. Partners Dima (left) and Ihor (centre) and their sponsors photographed in their garden. September, 2023.

Family. The son and granddaughter of Valentyna Romanchook pictured on her phone. December, 2023.

Church. Olena Bilokrenytska pictured at St Johns Church in Ivybridge. December, 2023.