From Kharkiv to the UK’s health service: Ukrainian doctor rebuilds her life – and helps others do the same
It was the day Russian forces launched their full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Inna lost the life she had spent decades building - her career as a consultant rheumatologist, her home and her sense of safety. Three years on, as the war continues in Ukraine, and bombs still go off in Kharkiv, she is practising medicine again in London and helping other refugee health workers find their footing in the UK.“Before the war, I thought I’d reached everything I wanted,” she said. “I had my career, my family, my home. There was never any thought of leaving.”
© Inna Soldatenko
The small car that carried Inna, her two daughters, her parents and their few belongings across Europe.
Inna’s story traces the journey of one of more than 260,000 Ukrainians who found safety in the United Kingdom following the invasion - a journey marked by loss, resilience and the transformative power of welcome. It also highlights what happens when skilled refugees are given the chance to contribute. Escaping the war with help When the war broke out, and as fighting intensified and buildings around them were destroyed, Inna and her family - her two daughters, her parents and her cat - fled Kharkiv with only a few documents and belongings, thinking that they would return home within a couple of days.Driving for more than 26 hours through Ukraine, Moldova and Romania, the family were welcomed by strangers sharing food, safety and kindness.“I still remember them,” she said of the volunteers who chose to help. “Like part of the family.”After travelling through Bulgaria and reconnecting with friends she had met years earlier in London, Inna arrived in the UK in May 2022 through the Homes for Ukraine scheme, a community-led initiative that allows people across the UK to sponsor Ukrainians fleeing the war by offering safe accommodation and the chance to rebuild their lives.
