Sarah, Duchess of York has been spending time with Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
The 62-year-old royal – who is the ex-wife of Prince Andrew – has been visiting the villages of Rudy and Kuznia Raciborska and hearing heartbreaking stories from Ukrainian families who have made the perilous journey to escape the conflict in their home country.
Through her charity, Sarah’s Trust, she has been helping to distribute aid to people crossing the border amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sharing pictures with the families, Sarah posted to Instagram: “I returned today to Rudy and Kuznia Raciborska, villages I’ve known and loved since I founded my charity in 1992. It’s important to remember the people and the places who have been such a big part of my life. I also wanted to honour the smaller towns and villages who haven’t hesitated in opening their doors to the Ukrainian people. We will be sending more aid from the UK to Rudy next week.”
Sarah heard the story of a lady called Oksana, who is six months pregnant, and walked for days with her seven-year-old son Goran to the border, and another young family, who were in tears telling her how much it meant that Polish people welcomed them with open arms.
Sarah continued: “I spent time with Ukrainian families given refuge at the Old Abbey. Fr Jan Rosiek runs the Foundation ‘Stare Opactwo Rudach’. They have fled from different parts of Ukraine, walking for days with their children.
I spoke with Oksana who is 6 months pregnant who made the journey to Rudy with her 7 year old son Goran. And also Olga, and her children Jan (4) and Paulina (5). Crying, they tell me how grateful they are for the kindness of the Polish people, and they say they will try their hardest to do their best whilst here. But they see their stay as temporary as, more than anything, they long to return home to their country, to their husbands who are fighting for the survival of Ukraine. We talked about always believing in hope, the smile of a child.”