A Ukrainian refugee family in Worcester has celebrated the birth of a baby boy, despite the father being unable to leave war-torn Ukraine to be with them. Lionel, known as Lio, was born at Worcestershire Royal Hospital last month to mother Alina, who fled the war with her older son Max in March 2022.
Father Roman, who remains in Kyiv, described the stress of being separated during the birth. 'When Lio was born I was here in Kyiv, miles away from my family, so I was very nervous,' he said. Alina, a lawyer, had briefly visited her husband in January and discovered she was pregnant upon returning to the UK.
With Roman unable to leave Ukraine, Max, the couple's son, accompanied his mother to hospital for the birth. He waited in a side room during Alina's Caesarean section and was the first to hold the baby. 'I hadn't seen anything like that before. I was quite nervous really, and scared, but it went fine,' Max said.
Alina, 41, said the pregnancy was a surprise but brought joy. 'It's difficult, but I'm very happy to have this baby and this difficulty is temporary,' she said. Roman added that he loved the baby 'so much' and hoped to see him properly soon.
The family faces ongoing challenges, with Roman bracing for a tough winter amid attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure. 'Last year there were attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine, so there were lots of cut offs of electricity,' he explained. Max, meanwhile, is studying for GCSEs and playing basketball for Worcester Wolves.
