Jewish charity provides 90-year-old Ukrainian refugee with emergency UK home

A 90-year-old Holocaust survivor and her registered disabled daughter who fled the war in Ukraine have been given emergency accommodation in the UK from a leading Jewish charity.

Jewish Blind and Disabled (JBD) were alerted to the predicament of Kateryna Razumenko, 90 and her daughter  Larysa 62, after reading a report in Jewish News which detailed their escape from Russian shelling in the city of Kharkiv in north eastern Ukraine.

The pair had waited one week  in a refugee centre in Poland before eventually being granted visas by the Home Office to come to the UK, where they have family living in Mill Hill East.

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JBD’s chief executive Lisa Wimborne stepped in with an offer of help after reading how the two Ukranian refugees would be living with granddaughter Katya and her husband Zac Newman in their two-bedroom flat of  in north London – along with their two children.

Instead of having to put-up with such cramped living conditions, the charity were able offer more suitable accommodation to the two refugees.

“The flat they are staying in is situated in one of our seven developments just down the road from Zac, Katya and their children,” revealed Wimbourne.

“The tenants there couldn’t have been more welcoming and supportive – it really has been so touching to see.”

It is the first time Razumenko, who was born in Kharkiv in 1931, has left Ukraine.

She had survived the ‘Holodomor’, which was a famine that hit Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 as a result of Stalin’s forced collectivisation policy and killed millions, lived through the subsequent  Nazi invasion and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Razumenko, who has dementia, and her daughter fled Ukraine by train, carrying just one handbag each and their 15-year-old cat Solomon, before arriving in Poland.

After their family’s pleas, Home Office escalated and fast-tracked their case, with their visas being granted within 24 hours, according to reports.

Katya’s husband Zac travelled to the Polish town of Otwock to help  Razumenko and Larysa, who had fainted at one stage as she escaped the bombs,  make the journey back to London, where they finally landed safely on Saturday.

Ot is believed that their beloved cat Solomon has still not been able to make it to the UK, and cannot leave Poland until May, in line with DEFRA guidelines.

“Whilst they are so thankful for the housing and support, all Larysa and Kateryna really want is for this war to end and to go home,” added Wimbourne.

” I am acutely aware that housing alone is not enough.

“Along with a roof over their head, this family need support with a range of health and wellbeing services.”

She said the charity have now reached out to the Association of Jewish Refugees and World Jewish Relief for specialist support services.

The local Jewish community have also been in contact to offer support.

“I have no doubt everyone will do as we have and go above and beyond to do all they can to help,” added the charity’s chief exec.

“Our doors remain open for more people. We will now focus on ensuring we have furnished flats and support in place to respond quickly. We are best placed to support older or disabled people who would benefit from our unique offering of independent living with 24/7 onsite support.”

Asked for his own thoughts on the intervention made by JBD, Zac Newman told Jewish News the charity had been “incredibly generous.”

He added: “The team and the residents are so friendly and helpful. They’ve already brought cooked chicken and potatoes.

“Residents are also really keen to support my family. Kateryna has been hugging several of the residents. She is so grateful.”