The Dobrovolskye family have had to flee their new home near the Gaza border (Picture: supplied METRO.co.uk)
A Ukrainian family who fled to Israel after Putin invaded are ‘desperately trying to reach the UK’ as they flee a war for the second time in one year.
The Dobrovolskye family, who moved to Israel in March 2022, have been forced to flee their new home near the border with Gaza after Hamas launched an unexpected attack on Israel.
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Igor, 56, and his wife Alina, 40, hid in their kibbutz’s bomb shelter for hours with their 15-year-old daughter, Sofia, and five-year-old son Tihon.
A friend of the family, Maria Artemova-Panasenko, told Metro: ‘The Israeli government gave them a house in a Kibbutz which they lived in for nearly a year.
‘But the Kibbutz is near the border with Gaza, and when Hamas invaded they were forced to stay in a bomb shelter for hours.
‘They were lucky to be near Israeli soldiers who helped protect them, but every time they heard a gun shot, they were terrified.’
The family were ‘very settled’ after living in Israel for almost a year, after Putin’s soldiers invaded their home town of Zaporozhye in Ukraine.
Alina with daughter Sofia, 15, and son, Tihon, five (Picture: supplied METRO.co.uk)
Maria, who fled Ukraine to the UK a year ago, said: ‘The children had even begun speaking in Hebrew because they were so settled in their new country.
‘They are just so disappointed and scared this is happening to them again.’
The family managed to board a flight to Romania where they are searching for a place to live.
But they are urgently trying to find passage to the UK to ‘feel settled’.
Maria said: ‘They want to come to the UK because they have relatives here, and it’s so much better emotionally when you have support from them.
‘But they need to find a sponsor, and right now they just need a place to stay – it’s their priority.’
Igor and his family are desperately trying to reach the UK (Picture: supplied METRO.co.uk)
It comes as ministers consider halting the funding for the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
The scheme, which has helped sponsorship arrangements for more than 130,000 people, is due to end next March.
But many people helped by the scheme are at risk of homelessness, an investigation by the National Audit Office found.
Around 74,000 UK households applied to help house a Ukrainian refugee under the scheme, receiving a £350 in the first year, and £500 in the second.
The NAO reports says: ‘Unless sponsors are willing to host Ukrainians without those payments, Ukrainians on the scheme will need other housing solutions.’
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‘Every time they heard a gun shot, they were terrified.’