A warm welcome
Ukrainians making a new start in Edinburgh with a wee bit of help
JUST OVER SIX months have passed since Russia’s horrific and illegal invasion of Ukraine. In that time some 10 million Ukrainians have been displaced, representing one of the worst humanitarian crises in Europe since the Second World War. In these volatile and testing times, I am proud that here in Edinburgh, Kyiv’s twin city, we have played our part in supporting those forced to flee their homes.
Since the advent of war in Ukraine, we have we received more than 6,700 refugees through our Welcome Hub. This is situated close to Edinburgh Airport, the site where more than 90% of Ukrainians have arrived to begin their new lives here in Scotland.
We currently have over 1,000 passengers aboard the MS Victoria in Leith where I have personally seen the exceptional facilities and support that they are receiving. The citizens of Edinburgh have also responded selflessly, with over 800 households opening their doors as hosts through the Homes for Ukraine scheme. This demonstrates the spirit and kindness of our welcoming, tolerant, and inclusive capital city. I am also an approved sponsor and have had a Ukrainian living in my home for the past several months.
Each and every Ukrainian who arrives in the capital is treated with the respect, kindness and support that they deserve. Colleagues across the council are working hard to facilitate access to the range of services which we offer and help our new arrivals assimilate to life in a new city and a new country.
In August the thirty-first anniversary of Ukraine’s independence was celebrated. Throughout the capital there were events to mark this milestone. Along with the Rt Hon Lord Provost Councillor Robert Aldridge, Ukrainian Consul (Edinburgh) Yevhen Makowskyj, and the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom, Prystaiko Vadym, I attended a celebratory march at Calton Hill steps, organised by the Edinburgh Branch of the Associations of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB). I was privileged to see so many Ukrainians expressing their pride and passion at their homeland’s history, and I will continue to support their community here in Edinburgh. The AUGB have worked steadfastly in the last six months to help their fellow Ukrainians who have been displaced in the wake of this brutal war. I would like to pay tribute to the Edinburgh Branch Chair Hannah Beaton-Hawryluk and her team for their sustained and vital work.
We remain in a dark and difficult period with the ongoing war yet I am consistently inspired by the perseverance and hope of those who have made their new lives here in Edinburgh. The links and relationships between our two nations, and between our two twinned capital cities, Edinburgh, and Kyiv, have been emboldened by the events of the past six months.
From the great cities of Kharkhiv to Lviv, to Donetsk and Odessa and beyond, I look forward to a time when we can enjoy these relationships in days of peace for all of Ukraine.