'They cannot destroy our desire for freedom’ - Besieged Kyiv resident sends message of thanks to Greater Manchester town

‘They can destroy our homes, our schools, our hospitals and our churches but they cannot destroy our desire for freedom’. Those are the words of Ivan Danyliuk, a resident of the besieged city of Kyiv, who has thanked the community of Bury for their support and compassion following the Russian invasion last month.

His message was read out in a hushed council chamber by the leader of Bury Council, Coun Eamonn O’Brien, who is a friend of Mr Danyliuk. The message was read as plans to welcome Ukrainian refugees to Bury are being made after an ‘incredible response’ from the borough’s residents to the crisis.

The meeting of the full council heard action had begun, including attempting to secure housing for those fleeing the war. The council unanimously backed an emergency motion expressing solidarity with Ukraine and its people.

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Coun O’Brien explained the measures being put in place by the authority for any refugees arriving in Bury. He said: “We’ve got two big tasks ahead of us as a council to support refugees.

“One is the direct provision of public services, we will have to find housing which will not be easy. We struggled but did manage to find a quite significant amount of housing for Afghan refugees but that was not easy and that maxxed out a lot of our provision.

“We will scour around for housing provision. As a lot of the refugees who will likely end up in this country are women and children there is also a need for places at school. We are not blessed with lots of spare school places but there are where children could be accommodated.

“The other side of the challenge is less about direct provision and