Viktoriya Shtanko

Viktorya was born in Ukraine and came to the UK in the early 2000s on a student visa after which she obtained employment which brought her to Milton Keynes in 2008. She moved to Warwickshire for a period to pursue her career but returned to MK in 2013 to settle down and start a family. She became a British citizen. She compares living in Milton Keynes with the place where she grew up in the north of Ukraine near the Russian border. The best things about both have similar features particularly the green spaces. MK’s parks have helped her feel at home and she comments that the people of Milton Keynes have been welcoming and are a friendly, open community. She thinks this city is an ideal place to raise a family, but when asked what could be improved for the future, she hopes for an innovative new public transport network.

Following the invasion of her home country by Russia, the UK along with other countries accepted Ukrainian citizens as refugees. Viktorya worked to create a registered charity, Ukraine Appeal, which she now leads, to help provide aid to the Ukraine and to assist the refugees who arrived in Milton Keynes. Her account describes the effect of the war on the families arriving, and the setting up of schooling for the young children. She acknowledges the help from MK Council, Churches Together in MK, and other bodies who have been supportive in this venture. Some 2,000 people have been made welcome in MK.