Hanna Dorosh (left) and Marharejta Stamptska were among those who joined independence celebrations at Islington Assembly Hall

UKRAINIAN refugees living in Islington celebrated their country’s independence day and urged their new neighbours not to forget the war.

Since arriving in July, Hanna Dorosh, an engineer from Kyiv, has spent most of her free time outside Downing Street demonstrating against Russia’s invasion.

The 29-year-old said: “Whenever I have time, I go down. We should continue to support Ukraine, tell people about the situation. The war doesn’t stop, a lot of bad things happen every day. We should speak loud about it – it’s already six months past and it’s still continuing. We must not forget.”

In March this year, Ms Dorosh decided to leave her home city.

“It was very dangerous to stay, our city was every day getting emptier,” she said. “In that period, Russians wanted to capture Kyiv.”

Ms Dorosh, who lived with her mother and sister, said her life came to be dominated by curfews and frequent sirens.

“It was really scary, sirens sounded several times a day. Every time you heard a sound of sirens you had to be ready to go to a shelter… sometimes you spent the nights in the shelter – it was scary to be in the flats,” she said.

She arrived in the UK in July after matching up with a host family on a Facebook group. Based near Highbury and Islington Station, Ms Dorosh likes running through Highbury Fields.

“I really like Islington, there are lots of parks and very good public connections,” she said.

Now she is settled, she is also looking for a new job in pharmaceutical or biotechnical engineering.

“I have already had some interviews with companies, I’m just waiting to hear the answer,” she said.

The Dorosh family are now split up over Europe.

Her mother and sister are currently in Germany, where her sister is studying for a PhD, while her uncles and cousins remain in the Vinnytsia region of central Ukraine. Despite their current separation, Ms Dorosh is certain they will soon be back together again.

“We really believe in our country, that we will go back home and continue our normal lives in Ukraine,” she said.

Marharejta Stamptska, from southern Ukraine, also hopes to resume her normal life at some point. Ms Stamptska fled Ukraine with her daughter, while her husband and other children were forced to stay behind because “there were some battles in the region and all the roads were destroyed.”

Eventually, her family was reunited when a host offered them a large flat in Farringdon in June. Back in Ukraine, Ms Stamptska worked in a nursery while her husband worked as an economist. They are now looking to find similar jobs in London until they can return home. Ms Stamptska and Ms Dorosh came together at Islington Assembly Hall to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day this week.

“It’s already 31 years of our independence from the Soviet Union, and this year it’s a very important holiday for all Ukrainians to remember we are an independent country,” Ms Dorosh said.