A new generation of influencers
The Ukrainian refugees sharing their lives on social media
The War
The world looked on in horror as Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a 'special military operation' to invade Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
Missiles and airstrikes began to bombard Ukraine's major cities and ports, launching a war of destruction on its infrastructure, military and civilians.
Within a few weeks, men of conscription age were banned from leaving the country.
But there were millions of women, children, and elderly people who still needed somewhere to go.
Having left behind their homes, families, friends, and careers, they have had to start afresh in strange, new surroundings across the world.
For more than 60,000 of these refugees, the UK has been their destination. Now, they are learning to adapt, with some sharing every step of their journey on social media for others to see.
Alisa Cooper
35-year-old Alisa Cooper is not your average influencer: she is a Ukrainian refugee in a city where she knows nobody and nobody knows her, wearing clothes gifted through humanitarian aid.
Before the war, Alisa lived a life of glamour, visiting famous restaurants and mixing with Ukraine’s top celebrities and influencers through her highly successful food blog and popular YouTube channel, Instagram account, and online culinary course.
But then, her life was turned upside down when the war forced her and her five-year-old son, Kupriian, to flee their home in Kyiv.
When she left Ukraine, Alisa already had hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram. Upon arriving in London, she decided it was time for new beginnings – and her TikTok account @alisacooperldn was born.
Alisa is determined to show people what being a refugee is really like, and each of her videos is a record of how she is adapting and surviving the culture shock of a new country.
“I heard this myth about British people being really closed off, but I have not experienced anything like that,” she said. “They have such big hearts.”
Her videos are inundated with comments from Brits sharing well wishes, providing tips on places to visit, and suggesting where she can find support. One user said: “Welcome to the UK, I hope you find peace and some comfort here.”
Alisa feels TikTok offers something different from other social media platforms, saying: “On Instagram there are Ukrainian people who need my support, whereas TikTok is a space where I can share my own feelings and insecurities.
“For me, social media is a tool which helps you represent your mindset to the world. It helps people to understand who you are, like you’re not a complete stranger or alien in a new city.”
A stranger is exactly what Alisa is determined not to be: she is even reading Kate Fox’s anthropological best-seller, ‘Watching the English: the hidden rules of English behaviour’, which provides insights into British phenomena such as small talk.
By analysing English rituals and learning them, Alisa hopes to make a new life here for her and her son. And her favourite British tradition? Pubs, of course.
She said: “I’m so interested in the pub culture, it is all about socialising. You have child chairs in the pub! In my country, a bar is not a place for kids.”
Alisa’s gateway into the British pub scene has been her generous 27-year-old host Olivia Souto, whose house in Ealing has given Alisa and her son a safe haven through the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
In a TikTok video, Alisa explains how Olivia has bought her food, given her an Oyster card, helped to set her up with career opportunities, and even gifted toys to her son, who is missing his friends and his father.
While waiting for a school place to open up for Kupriian, Alisa has been getting him familiar with the city. He was particularly thrilled to meet London’s urban foxes, and on a visit to Richmond Park, Alisa said he excitedly shouted: “Mom, look, so many deers!”
These moments of joy can be tarnished by guilt when Alisa remembers those left behind. Her grandparents, who are over 90 years old, have stayed in her hometown of Kharkiv in the eastern region of Ukraine which has suffered the most devastating Russian bombardment.
Despite this, Alisa knows she must carry on, continuing her thriving culinary business while also using social media to dispel myths and stereotypes surrounding refugees.
She says being ‘proud’ of your own achievements is not seen as respectable in Ukraine, but that it is an honour to be proud of your country – now more than ever.
“It is important to show Ukrainians have dignity and we are not only here to do manual labour; we have a lot of great start-ups, great architects, and a great creative industry,” she said.
“The Russian invasion took everything, but I am still the person I was and I don’t want them to take this from me. I will keep my traditions, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to know more and be acquainted with all the social rituals here.”
Kupriian • Photo by Irene Kripak
Kupriian • Photo by Irene Kripak
Alisa Cooper and Kupriian • Photo by Irene Kripak
Alisa Cooper and Kupriian • Photo by Irene Kripak
Alisa Cooper and Kupriian • Photo by Irene Kripak
Alisa Cooper and Kupriian • Photo by Irene Kripak
Yuliia Bulaieva
Yuliia Bulaieva, 25, is another Ukrainian refugee using social media to tell her story and help others. Her Instagram acts as a resource for Ukrainians looking for a place to stay in the UK.
Before the invasion, Yuliia was living in Lviv in western Ukraine, but had to flee when her family insisted she find somewhere safe. She now lives with a host in Bracknell, Berkshire.
As a professional social media manager back home, Yuliia designed content for lifestyle brands and wrote strategies for bloggers on how to do visual storytelling.
“But when the war happened, I had to change direction,” she said. “I felt guilty that I am in a safer place and a lot of Ukrainians are not, so I decided I can show them what it looks like to be in the UK as a refugee. It’s to take the guilt away, because I am done with that.”
Yuliia’s Instagram stories include tips on how to build an effective CV in English, work out the complicated process of applying for a VISA, and her experiences navigating London's daunting transport networks.
She has even started a series called ‘Interviews with the English’, where she asks her host’s friends questions such as: ‘Why do you like queueing so much?’ ‘Do you like Americans?’ and ‘What is British people’s favourite food?’
Like Alisa, Yuliia is trying to embrace British culture. She attended the Platinum Jubilee Trooping the Colour parade on 2 June, finding herself bemused by the enthusiastic, flag-waving crowds that descended on the streets of London.
“I don’t get it,” she said, rolling her eyes.
As she takes in her new surroundings, many things still remind Yuliia of home: finding an Eastern European food shop, spotting a Ukrainian flag waving in the distance, and watching with the world as Ukraine won Eurovision on 14 May.
She said: “I cried so hard and I was never even that big a fan of Eurovision. This was my first time watching it from beginning until the end.”
Sometimes, Yuliia’s sense of national pride is accompanied by memories of fear. Her eyes began to well up as she watched the Jubilee flypast roar over Buckingham Palace.
“It reminds me of another sound,” she said quietly, referring to the Russian missiles which have completely destroyed parts of her country.
However, Yuliia does not like being seen as a victim. She believes Ukrainian people can withstand more hardship than most, after suffering through generations of shared trauma.
“I miss my family,” she said. “Family is what stays with you for the rest of your life. And I really miss my husband. Since we started dating we've been together 24/7 and now we've been away for two months.”
Yuliia and her husband were supposed to be celebrating their first wedding anniversary together on 5 June, but instead they are more than a thousand miles apart as he remains in Ukraine as part of the war effort.
Only the day before the Jubilee, Yuliia learned one of her friends from home had died in the war. His name was Andriy Lukiyanchuk and he was 27 years old.
Saddened and angered by his death and the suffering her country continues to endure, Yuliia is determined to do anything she can to keep Ukraine on the news agenda.
“It feels like people are starting to forget that this is happening,” she said. “When it all started, it was all over the news. There are still people in Ukraine who go through much worse things than I am.
"So when I talk about it on social media, it brings awareness to a lot of British people who had no idea that it's that bad. On the news you only see 10% of what is really happening.”
Yuliia will not give up, and she has the words ‘you can’ tattooed on her forearm to prove it.
She explained: “My therapist back home suggested that every time I feel like a failure, I write ‘you can’ on my hand. I can look at my hand and know that I can do everything I want.”
Upon seeing an English design of ‘you can’ online, Yuliia decided to get it tattooed permanently a few years ago. Little did she know just how much she would need it.
Yuliia's tattoo • Photo by Zoe Crowther
Yuliia's tattoo • Photo by Zoe Crowther
The Platinum Jubilee through the eyes of a Ukrainian refugee • Video by Zoe Crowther
I attended today’s #PlatinumJubilee birthday parade with Yuliia, a 25-year-old Ukrainian refugee 🇺🇦🇬🇧
— Zoë Crowther (@zoenora6) June 2, 2022
Here are today’s celebrations through her eyes 🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/5t0E16cG9Z
Andriy Lukiyanchuk • Photo from Yuliia Bulaieva
Andriy Lukiyanchuk • Photo from Yuliia Bulaieva
Homes For Ukraine
Yuliia and Alisa are not alone.
According to the United Nations, 14 million people have fled Ukraine since the invasion, making it Europe's largest refugee crisis since the Second World War.
Only 65,700 of these refugees have arrived in the UK. Meanwhile, on a scale unprecedented in recent European history, more than 3.8 million Ukrainians have arrived in neighbouring Poland.
The majority of Ukrainian refugees, including Alisa and Yuliia, come to the UK though the government's Homes for Ukraine scheme, where they must find their own connections to hosts in the UK before starting a long trail of application processes and paperwork.
Refugees and hosts must get to know each other independently before applying for the scheme – a feat which can be difficult to coordinate when thousands of miles apart.
Once refugees gain a VISA and arrive, there are still many hoops to jump through: setting up a bank account, registering for a GP, job-searching, and finding somewhere to live once the six-month period covered by the scheme is over.
Of course, these tasks are made all the more difficult for those who cannot speak English.
Although Yuliia and Alisa were both able to find their own sponsors, many of their friends have not been so lucky.
The government's Homes for Ukraine page states: "The UK is one of the most generous nations in the world and the British public are now being asked to go one step further and open their homes to those fleeing the war in Ukraine.
"We have a long history of helping others in their hour of need and the Homes for Ukraine Scheme offers a lifeline to those forced to flee their homes."
The #HomesForUkraine hashtag on Instagram has more than one thousand posts, both from refugees themselves and the British people hosting them.
While most accounts are positive, there have been shocking stories of predatory men using the Homes for Ukraine scheme to host single and vulnerable young women, and Ukrainians are more than aware of these risks.
Yuliia is worried that when people hear these stories, it discourages them from coming to the UK to find safety. This is one of the reasons she is committed to sharing her experience.
She said: “On social media, people are only seeing the worst of what is happening and they are afraid. That is why people ask me to communicate with sponsors and British people for them, so they know for a fact that it will be okay.”
Coping
While social media is acting as a lifeline for those struggling to find accommodation, it's also a coping mechanism for refugees who have already made it to the UK.
Both Alisa and Yuliia find comfort in sharing their lives online and connecting with others, helping to prevent them from becoming emotionally overwhelmed.
Victoria Hulme, 44, is a therapist based in Kent who offers free counselling for Ukrainian refugees through international network It’s Complicated.
She believes refugees can find social media to be an effective tool for managing feelings of guilt and loneliness.
“It is very important in terms of campaigning for the cause, to keep awareness alive, and to normalise the situation for themselves and other Ukrainians facing similar circumstances,” she said.
“Social media is an online community which can be a very important supportive tool, especially as many Ukrainians are so far-flung and separated.”
Often, a refugee's only adult company is their hosts, who therefore have a huge responsibility to ensure their guests do not feel isolated.
Victoria suggests that hosts should make a particular effort to learn about Ukrainian culture from their guests, encouraging them to cook meals and play Ukrainian music to remind them of home.
As Ukrainians continue to arrive in the UK, Victoria offers advice on how British people should approach them: “Patience is key, allow the person to speak in their own time, giving them the space to open up when they want to. Consider their safety and introduce them to community settings and other Ukrainian refugees.
“It’s important for refugees to keep celebrating and rejoicing, and really not feeling guilty about enjoying life and doing all the normal things they want to do.”
Photo by Irene Kripak
What Next?
Knowing what comes next is almost impossible when faced with a war that could last for years. For now, Alisa, Yuliia, and millions of other displaced Ukrainians must focus on taking things day-by-day.
Alisa has managed to find a school space for Kupriian, who is happy to finally be able to spend time with other children. However, Alisa is now in a desperate search to find a place of their own. Struggling to find somewhere here, she is considering moving to another country, again.
Yuliia faces similar difficulties, and is working hard to find a job in social media management, while still meeting as many potential sponsors as she can to set them up with other Ukrainians who need support. She hopes to return to Ukraine as soon as possible to see her husband and family.
As news coverage of the Ukraine war begins to wane, its devastating impact on people's lives continues. Wherever Ukrainian people go, their culture, pride and determination travels with them, and social media is providing them with a voice of their own.
Follow Ukrainian photographer Irene Kripak here.
Find out how you can support Ukraine here.
Photo from Pixabay
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