‘I’ve cried enough tears to drown Putin’: From war-torn Ukraine to sanctuary in Hull

REUNITED: John and Liliya Holmes

EXCLUSIVE by Kevin Shoesmith

Mother-of-two Liliya, believed to be the first Ukrainian national to find sanctuary in Hull, wept as she spotted her country’s blue and yellow flag stuck on the side of a Hull Cars cab.

The private-hire car had been booked to take Liliya Holmes, 59, and her city-born husband John, 69, from the Old Town to St Alban’s Church in Hall Road, north Hull, for prayers, and the driver – a man known only as Sean – had made the gesture to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

“Sean told me he was ex-British Forces,” says Liliya, speaking exclusively to The Hull Story.

We are in the living room of the couple’s home in Hull – a stone’s throw from Hull Minister - that will, for the foreseeable future, be their base after escaping the bloodshed.

“The driver told us that he wanted to show Ukraine that they do not stand alone,” says Liliya. “I was so touched. He was also planning to buy medical supplies and give it to the church on Linnaeus Street for them to send to Ukraine.

“People like him make Britain great. Hull has a big heart. I told him that I was going to take a picture and send it all my friends and family in Ukraine, which I have done. Everyone is so appreciative of people in Hull. It means so much.”

DEFENCE: Ukranian soldiers on the streets of Odessa. Picture credit: dumskaya.net

Last Wednesday, with Russian rockets landing near her apartment and office in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa, Liliya made the agonising decision to leave her homeland, using a five-year visa she obtained before the conflict to secure entry into the UK.

“One morning, at five-o’clock, I was awoken by loud explosions,” she says.

The tips of her fingers turn white as she squeezes her husband’s hand.

“It was coming from Odessa’s airport, which is maybe three kilometres from our apartment. The whole city heard the explosions because Odessa is so flat. Up until then, I didn’t think the Russians would attack us. I thought the ordinary Russian people would want to support us against a war.”

As previously reported by The Hull Story, John arrived in Hull shortly before the Russian invasion. He tried in vain to persuade his wife, with whom he owns a marine surveying business, to join him.

“A good month before the invasion I told Liliya what I was seeing in the Western news,” he says. “She would not have any of it. She said, ‘No – they will not invade us. The Russians are our big brother’. It caused a lot of friction between us.” 

SAFE AT LAST: John and Liliya Holmes at their home in Hull

Liliya interjects.

“At this point I didn’t want to leave my country,” she says. “I needed to pay the wages of our staff. We have twenty staff members. If I left, I thought it would demoralise the staff. I felt that I would be letting them down. Abandoning them.”

On the walls of the living room are family photographs, John’s framed master mariner certificate and ornaments from Ukraine. In happier times, this was a base for the couple to explore John’s home city whilst visiting family elsewhere in the UK.

“I have a son in Odessa and another son in London,” says Liliya. “John was in Hull. They were all very worried about my safety and I did not think that I could do anymore in Ukraine. I am unable to fight.”

John shows text messages his wife sent him while sheltering in an underground car park in Odessa.

11:24am: I do not want to move now

11:26am: We are hearing explosions. Scary

11:52am: Air raid warning is cancelled

11:58am: Do you want me to leave now?

THRIVING PORT: Odessa before the war. Picture credit: dumskaya.net

“It was a very difficult choice to leave my home,” says Liliya. “I was torn. But I knew it was the right decision.”

John, who attended Hull’s former Boulevard Nautical School before embarking on a career at sea, adds: “That was the moment when, I think, it finally clicked for Liliya. Up until this point, she didn’t want to leave. I was s***-scared, to be frank, when those messages came through.”

Liliya had been forced to confront reality.

“In just a few days Odessa had changed from being a commercial hub into something I no longer recognised,” she says. “Before all this happened, you could feel life in the city. Now it was empty. Most of the shops had their shutters down. The only shops open now were those that sold food and pharmacies. Streetlights had been switched off. No-one left their homes except to flee.”

An employee of the couple drove Liliya to within 10km of Ukraine’s southern border with Moldova.

“There was too much traffic,” says Liliya. “I got out and walked the remaining ten kilometres. It was frightening.”

‘I WAS TERRIFIED’: John Holmes on his wife Liliya’s escape from Ukraine

John adds: “My heart was in my mouth. She was texting me telling me that she was passing through a heavily built-up area, and I feared that the Russians would attack people attempting to flee, just as they have elsewhere.”

Eventually, Liliya linked up with friends who drove her to Iasi, a city in north-eastern Romania. From there, she took a direct flight to London Luton Airport, where she was met by John.

“The immigration officer was originally from Hull,” she says. “He was very sympathetic. That was my first Hull welcome.”

Outwardly, Liliya – with her direct language and firm gesturing – typifies the tough Slav spirit.

But her husband of 26 years knows her well.

“She’s still on edge now,” he says, cupping Liliya’s right hand. “On the weekend, we were walking arm-in-arm along Jameson Street after having done some shopping at Tesco in St Stephen’s when a private aeroplane flew low overhead. I suddenly felt her tense up.”   

VAST: An aerial view of Odessa, known for its beaches and 19th-century architecture. Picture credit: dumskaya.net

For Liliya, initial shock has now turned to anger and a sense of betrayal.

“Eighty years ago, Ukrainians and Russians were both fighting the Nazis in the Second World War,” she says.

“My grandfather’s brother was killed defending Russia. I thought Putin may be a mad man but the Russian population will make their voices heard and back us because of our common roots. We saw them as our big brother. We have the same blood.  Remember, all people in Odessa speak Russian.”

On an iPhone, Liliya watches a video of a young Ukrainian girl singing Let It Go from the Disney film Frozen, as families hunker down in a cramped basement that is protecting them from Putin’s bombs and bullets on the streets above.

“I am proud but also very sad watching that,” says Liliya, welling up. “Even in conditions like that, people are trying to keep their spirits up.

“The amount of tears I have cried could drown Putin.”

HEART-RENDING: Twitter post of a young Ukranian girl singing Let It Go

Liliya informs us the girl is, in fact, singing in Russian not Ukrainian – another sign of the close ties shared by the two warring sides to this conflict that shows no sign of ending.

“Just because we speak Russian, it doesn’t mean to say we are Russian – or want to be Russian,” she says. 

Liliya knows she is fortunate to have escaped unharmed when hundreds if not thousands have died. But the future looks bleak.

“My life now seems like an empty shell,” she says. “No plans. No future.  I have my laptop so I try to do some work, but we are worried about income. We have left everything behind – our apartment, house in the countryside, company, cars – everything.”

But like many of her fellow Ukrainians she is determined not to yield to Russian aggression.

“Russia is a police state,” she says. “We do not want that. No Ukrainian wants that. Ukraine is a free spirit. We do not want a Russian world.

‘HULL HAS A BIG HEART. THANK YOU’: Liliya’s message to Hull

“I do not see how Putin can control such a vast territory as Ukraine when people do not want it. Ukraine is about 1,000km from west to east, and 800km from north to south. It is two-and-a-half times the size of the United Kingdom.

“Putin has underestimated the consequences – banks, supply chains, everything has been broken. What good are our ports going to be to Putin when no-one wants to trade with Russia?

“I was born in Soviet times. I can understand the psyche of the Russians. They live in poverty but are very proud to have a strong army. Growing up, I was one of them.”  

Liliya is having to counter a natural desire for revenge with recognition of possible consequences should NATO member countries take up arms against Putin’s military.

“I want a no-fly zone because I feel sorry for the people, but I also understand the consequences for the whole world that would come from that,” she says. “Our army needs to be provided with more efficient weapons – air defence system like they have in Israel.”

Liliya has a final, heartfelt message for the people of Hull.

She says: “Anyone could find themselves in the same situation. I did not ever think that I would have to escape from my own country.

“I am extremely touched and appreciative of all your support. You are incredible. Thank you.”

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