A quiet and dignified procession in Ayr marked the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine

A small group of Ukrainians and Scots walked together through Ayr to lay a wreath at the war memorial in Wellington Square yesterday evening. The billowing blue and yellow Ukrainian flags were led in procession by a Scottish Saltire.

Ukrainians and Scots walked together in the procession organised by Professor Nataliia Grevtseva, Professor of the Department of Hotel and Restaurant Business and Food Technologies in the city of Kharkiv, north-east Ukraine.

Professor Grevtseva said “Before the 24th February 2022 our lives were ordinary.

We went to work, we took our children to school, we planned holidays. We met friends and built our careers. We built our homes and built our plans.”

She continued “Then came the morning of the 24th of February.

Many of us woke up because of phone calls. Messages and explosions.”

“In one moment, everything that felt stable and familiar disappeared. Missiles hit our cities. Homes were destroyed. Schools, hospitals and kindergartens were hit and damaged.”

“Our homes were no longer safe. We lost not only our houses. We lost our sense of normal life in an instant.”

A simple blue and yellow ribboned wreath was laid at the war memorial by Mr Alan Dorrans who was the local MP when frightened and confused Ukrainian families arrived in Ayrshire.

Natalia said afterwards “Thank you to everyone who is here today. Thank you to the Ukrainian Community Group in Ayr. And a very special thank you to our Scottish friends who joined us.”

She explained her thoughts on that fateful day when her country was invaded. Her city is only 25 miles from the Russian border.

“Many of us had to make decisions very quickly. What should we take with us?   Where should we go? How can we take our children to safety?” How do we explain to them why we are leaving our home?”

“We did not plan to emigrate. We did not dream of starting a new life in another country.

We were simply trying to protect our children and ourselves. For many of us, this journey was very long and very difficult.”

Describing arriving in Scotland Professor Grevtesava said “at that moment, we felt the support of people we had never met before.”

“Today, we would like to say very simple but very sincere words.

Thank you.  Thank you to Scotland.   Thank you to local communities.

Thank you for your patience. For your kindness. For your human support.”

“For many of us, this was more than just help.

It was the feeling that we were not alone.

We are truly grateful that you opened your towns, your homes and your hearts to us.

Today we are here as the Ukrainian community in Ayr.

“We live here. Our children go to local schools.  We learn the language.

We work.  We study.  We slowly build a new life.

But at the same time, our thoughts are very often at home.”

“In Kharkiv. In Kyiv. In Mariupol. In Kherson. In Zaporizhzhia.

And in hundreds of other towns and villages where our families still live.

We live between two realities.”

“Between the life we are building here. And the life we had there.

We do not know when we will be able to return home.

And what kind of homes we will return to.

But we know one thing very clearly. We want peace. We want a normal life.

We want our children never to know what air raid sirens shelters and night explosions are.”

“We deeply appreciate your support for Ukraine.

We see it.  We feel it.”

Nataliia finished by saying “And we want you to know that it truly matters to us.

Thank you for your presence here today.”

Ayrshire Daily News would like to thank The Ukrainian Community Group for sharing their experiences with us.

We would also like to thank photographers Neil Pendlebury, Rosa Fiucane and Michal Piasecki from Ayr Photographic Society for taking a whole series of excellent photographs yesterday.