Ukrainian teen to play final match before going home
Ivan fled Ukraine with his mum in 2022 and has become an U13 football star in Derbyshire.
Ivan received a signed shirt from Alfreton Town Juniors as part of a send-off on 23 March [Alfreton Town Juniors] A Ukrainian boy who has lived in Derbyshire for three years will play his final football match in the county later before flying back to his home country on Monday. Ivan, now aged 13, was brought to Alfreton by his mum Viktoriia in December 2022 to escape the warfare they witnessed in Kyiv. In that time Ivan went from knowing little-to-no English to speaking it fluently, and has become a "popular member" of Alfreton Town Juniors FC.
His mother said: "I made the decision last year that we should return, mostly because of [Ivan], after three years he needs his dad, and I need my family back. " Viktoriia said she and her husband were really proud of Ivan [BBC] When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Ivan and Viktoriia initially left their home in the Ukrainian capital to hide in Slovakia. "Then we returned home in September 2022, and it was awful.
There were blackouts all the time, missiles, drones, explosions, it was really a very hard time for us," Viktoriia said. It was during that period she met a host family in Alfreton through Facebook, before moving to the UK in December that year. She described it as "absolutely terrifying" because she did not know anyone and had to leave her husband, Ivan's father, behind.
Ivan's dad stayed in war-torn Ukraine to work on vital communications infrastructure (stock image) [ROMAN PILIPEY/EPA] Viktoriia and Ivan would stay with their host family for roughly one-and-a-half years. Then, using money she earned from working at a Greggs, she moved the pair into a rented home. Viktoriia said feeling settled was not easy but their host helped them find a school place for Ivan, and got him involved in the local football club.