Ukrainian expats in Dubai long for home as war interrupts lives

A year after the Russian invasion, families recount how they are adjusting to a new life

Dmytro Kotelenets, his wife Vasylisa Frolova and their son Rodion, 2, moved to the UAE in January 2022, just two weeks before the war started in Ukraine. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Every time Russia bombards the Ukrainian capital with missiles, the screen of Dmytro Kotelenets’s mobile phone goes dark.

The inevitable power outage disrupts the surveillance camera he installed to see his home in central Kyiv.

“Everything turns dark on the screen when the electricity goes off. The war must be happening thousands of miles away from Dubai but it still affects us,” he told The National.

Mr Kotelenets, his wife Vasylisa Frolova and their son Rodion, 2, moved to the UAE in January 2022, weeks before Putin’s troops swept into Ukraine on February 24, triggering the greatest conflict in Europe since the Second World War.

Both of us have worked with President Zelenskyy when he was a television star. In fact, he first auditioned for my show - and we rejected him!

Dmytro Kotelenets

Now in its second year, it has claimed thousands of lives on both sides and has uprooted thousands of families.

About 25,000 Ukrainians have relocated to the UAE, it is estimated.

A year into their new life, Mr Kotelenets and his wife say they still cannot fathom how the lives of millions of Ukrainians were turned upside down.

“It felt like I had to pack my life into a single suitcase," Ms Frolova, who was a popular TV host in Ukraine, told The National.

“My life was easy in Kyiv. Everybody knew me. I could just pick up my phone and things get done.

"Suddenly, I feel I am nobody. I am a stranger in this city."

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A year of war in Europe: Ukraine conflict in pictures

February 24 will be a year since Russia started the Ukraine war. The National picks out the most powerful images from the conflict. AFP

A member of Ukraine's 79th Air Assault Brigade fires a rocket-propelled grenade at Russian positions near Marinka in February. Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses MPs in Westminster Hall, London, in February 2023. Getty Images

Destroyed buildings 32km west of the front lines in Donetsk in January. Getty Images

An anti-aircraft gun in January fires at Russian positions near Bakhmut, Donetsk. Reuters

Destruction in the village of Bohorodychne, Donetsk. AFP

A Ukrainian artilleryman discards an empty shell on the outskirts of Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine, in December 2022. AFP

Children receive presents from a Ukrainian soldier dressed as Santa on Christmas Eve in Sloviansk. Getty Images

More than 1,000 missiles and rockets fired by Russian forces collected for cataloguing in Kharkiv in December 2022. Getty Images

The Metro provides shelter as Russia launches another missile attack on Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, in December 2022. Getty Images

Children at a PE class in Kyiv after Russia abandoned its attempt to seize the capital in November 2022. Getty Images

A sniper searches for Russian positions on the bank of the Dnipro river in Kherson in November 2022. Getty Images

Graffiti by Banksy on a wall among the debris in Borodyanka in November 2022. Getty Images

Ukrainian flags flutter around graves in a cemetery for soldiers killed in action in Kharkiv in October 2022. Getty Images

Parts of a drone, which Ukrainian authorities said was Iranian-made, after a Russian strike in Kyiv in October 2022. Reuters

An elderly woman is helped across a damaged bridge in Bakhmut in October 2022. Getty Images

Fuel tanks ablaze on damaged sections of the Kerch bridge in Crimea, in October 2022. Reuters

A destroyed bridge makes crossing the Donets river difficult, in Staryi Saltiv, east of Kharkiv, in September 2022. AFP

Firefighters at a thermal power plant in Kharkiv damaged by a Russian missile strike in September 2022. Reuters

Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr with his daughter Nikole at Lviv railway station in August 2022. Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then-British prime minister Boris Johnson read a plaque in Kyiv in August 2022 dedicated to the latter for his support. Getty Images

Destroyed Russian military equipment on Khreshchatyk street in Kyiv. The materiel was turned into an open-air military museum ahead of Ukraine's Independence Day on August 24. AFP

Shakhtar Donetsk v Metalist Kharkiv kicks off the Ukrainian Premier League season in August 2022 amid fears of bomb and missile alerts. EPA

Ukrainian servicemen fire an American-made 155mm M777 howitzer in July 2022 in the Kharkiv area. EPA

A bomb crater on the Antonovsky bridge across the Dnipro river in Kherson, July 2022. AFP

Maksym and Andrii with plastic guns at a 'checkpoint' they set up while playing in Kharkiv, July 2022. AP

Ukrainian troops on Snake Island in June 2022. Reuters

A woman evacuated from an area of conflict in June 2022 contemplates what the next move might be. AP

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Kyiv in June 2022. Getty Images

Graves in Irpin cemetery, May 2022. Getty Images

A Ukrainian soldier trapped within the besieged Azovstal Iron and Steel Works complex in Mariupol in May 2022. Reuters

The wreckage of a Russian helicopter in a bomb-cratered field in Biskvitne, May 2022. Getty Images

A Ukrainian army officer inspects a grain warehouse shelled by Russian forces in May 2022 near Novovorontsovka, Kherson. Getty Images

A boy from Mariupol arriving at an evacuation point in Zaporizhzhia in May 2022. Getty Images

A Russian serviceman on guard outside Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in May 2022. AFP

Oksana searches for salvageable items on the destroyed second floor of her home in Hostomel, April 2022. Getty Images

A floral memorial wall in Lviv for Ukrainian civilians killed during the Russian invasion, April 2022. Getty Images

People fleeing Lviv, eastern Ukraine, in April 2022, wait for a bus that will take them to Poland. Getty Images

A Russian soldier patrols a bombed Mariupol theatre in April 2022, as Moscow intensified its campaign to take the strategic port city. AFP

A Ukrainian celebrates success in Hostomel in April 2022. Getty Images

Julia Palovskaya reads to children during an air raid drill in the basement shelter at a preschool in Lviv, April 2022. Getty Images

Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Bucha in April 2022, where hundreds of bodies were found in the street and it was claimed the Russian leadership was responsible for killing civilians. AFP

Oleh Smolin, 23, who suffered leg injuries from Russian shelling in April 2022, in hospital in Chuhuiv. Getty Images

Fleeing refugees arrive at the border train station of Zahony, Hungary, in March 2022. Getty Images

A father says goodbye to his daughter on an evacuation train about to leave Odesa in March 2022. AFP

Ukrainians under a destroyed bridge as they try to cross the Irpin river on the outskirts of Kyiv in March 2022. AP

People cram into Kyiv station to catch trains to Poland or to western parts of Ukraine, shortly after the initial invasion in February 2022. Getty Images

A demonstration in support of Ukraine in Trafalgar Square, London, February 2022 . Getty Images

Russian army vehicles in Armyansk, Crimea, in February 2022. AFP

Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on February 25, 2022, in a video on Facebook. He said 'we are all here', shortly after the Russian invasion began. AFP

A residential building damaged by a missile strike in Kyiv in February 2022. Getty Images

A metro station in Kyiv in February 2022, crowded with people trying to escape the invasion. AFP

A police officer addresses people gathered to protest against the invasion of Ukraine, in central Saint Petersburg, Russia, February 2022. AFP

A protester in support of Ukraine, in Berlin, Germany, in February 2022. Getty Images

Ukrainian soldiers prepare to repel an attack in Ukraine's Lugansk region on February 24, 2022. AFP

Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on February 24, 2022, after Russia launched a full-scale invasion. AFP

A mass exodus from Kyiv after pre-offensive missile strikes by Russian armed forces on February 24, 2022. Getty Images

Security personnel inspect the remains of a shell in Kyiv on February 24, 2022, soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine. AFP

CCTV footage shows Russian military equipment crossing a Crimea border checkpoint on February 24, 2022. AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin early on February 24, 2022, when he announced a 'military operation' in Ukraine. AFP

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As a TV producer, Mr Kotelenets knew Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the comedy actor-turned statesman who many now see as a leader of the free world.

“Both of us have worked with President Zelenskyy when he was a television star. In fact, he first auditioned for my show - and we rejected him,” Mr Kotelenets said with a laugh.

The couple said they are lucky to have found work in the UAE.

“I am producing shows for brands like WarnerBros World in Abu Dhabi, and she has a huge following on her Instagram and YouTube channels," Mr Kotelenets said of his wife.

"We are doing our best.”

But nothing compensates for their yearning to go home.

“Life in Dubai is good. It is child-friendly and comfortable. You may think that makes it easy for us to forget about what happened but it is not true," he said.

“We miss the fresh air, the weather in Kyiv. We miss our home, our people. We hope the war will end soon and we can go back soon.

“We could have stayed back and helped our country. But our main concern was our son, who was just 10 months at that time. We wanted him to be in a safe place.”

The couple said they are thankful to be in a multicultural city.

“My son has started speaking English. I also realised materialistic things don’t matter," said Ms Frolova.

Living under Russian occupation

Svetlana and Sergii Kostiuk moved to Dubai in April 2022 with their two sons. Photo: Svetlana Kostiuk

Ukrainian sisters Margarita Makarova, 31, and Marina Makarova, 28, saw the worst of the conflict before they managed to escape to Dubai in September 2022.

They are from the Kharkiv region which was occupied by Russian forces early on.

The sisters told The National that they are still haunted by the experience of hiding in bunkers to escape soldiers.

“It was the most terrifying time … those few months. It looked like a movie, not real life. There was not a single day or night when our village was not bombed,” said Margarita.

Both sisters worked at the famous Argentina Grill restaurant when the war started.

“We did not believe the war would happen. We thought it was not possible in this 21st century. But we were wrong,” said Margarita.

A few days after the invasion, they travelled to Kutuzivka village bordering Russia where their parents lived.

“We had lost all communication with them and we were scared but we reached the village, which was soon occupied by Russia," she said.

"We spent days and nights in the bunker of our parents’ apartment as soldiers went about searching each and every house.

“We had a limited amount of food and water - for months. The only relief was that we were all together.

"But in September, Ukrainian soldiers recaptured our village and people were freed. Our building also came under heavy shelling. Luckily, we could crawl out of the collapsed building to safety.”

Leaving their parents behind was a tough decision, said Marina.

“We had heard that the owner of the Argentina Grill was opening a new restaurant in Dubai and we thought that was a good opportunity. We are grateful that we have a job and are able to send money home,” she said.

'My son can sleep safely now'

Svetlana Kostiuk and her husband Sergii Kostiuk moved to the UAE in April 2022 with their two sons, aged 10 and 2, as the war escalated.

They chose the UAE as Ms Kostiuk’s brother and family have been Dubai residents for the past nine years.

“We first rented the apartment in Sports City on a monthly basis. Little did we know that the war would last this long,” said Ms Kostiuk, head of advertising for Ukrainian news website Pravda.

Her husband was running an advertising agency in Kyiv and currently works in a real estate agency in Dubai.

“The good thing is we feel safe here. My son would wake up to the warning sirens before missile attacks and we would carry our children to the bunkers,” said Ms Kostiuk.

She said they had to take the tough call of leaving Kyiv after her children’s schools closed and the city was hit by massive power outages.

“Even after we moved here, Kyiv came under a barrage of attacks. It was really hard to watch what was happening to our country. We still find it hard to come to terms with it,” a tearful Ms Kostiuk said.

Dubai's first Ukrainian restaurant helping war migrants - in pictures

Mykhailo Berehovyi, chef at Yoy, a Ukrainian restaurant at The Pointe on The Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National

The restaurant's decor has authentic Ukrainian elements

Vasylisa Frolova, a former TV presenter, moved to Dubai from Ukraine a year ago with her young family and works at the restaurant

Yoy has plenty reminders of home, such as a 13-metre-long table made of Ukrainian wood decorated with a giant, hand-woven stork’s nest

The diaspora has united to enjoy cultural performances and live entertainment evenings at Yoy, the first of which attracted more than 150 people