August 27, 2022 12.00 pm This story is over 28 months old

“Our body is here in Lincolnshire, but our soul is in still in Ukraine”

The twins and their mum are living with their Lincolnshire host

Refugee twins Natalia and Ira Denys say “our body is here, but our soul is in Ukraine still” as they continue to adapt to life in Lincolnshire.

Fiona Lintin, owner of Caistor Equestrian Centre, is six weeks into hosting the twins and their mother at her Lincolnshire home and trying to distract them from their troubled thoughts.

The twin girls enrolled at school this week and during the evenings they’ll study online with their Ukrainian teachers.

Ira told BBC Look North: “I’m really excited because my English is not very good at the moment, but I am trying to develop my language skills.”

She added: “Our body is here, but our soul is in Ukraine still.”

Meanwhile, Khoanh Nhuien and Mariia Fedoruk arę six months into their resettlement in Louth.

This week they have been collecting the keys to their own flat so will leave their host Jasmine Brooks who has become their friend.

This comes in the same week that shoes were laid on the ground near Lincoln Cathedral in memory of children who lost their lives in the war in Ukraine in an event commemorating Ukrainian Independence Day, which included a march of solidarity and remembrance.