A woman who fled the major war in Ukraine in the early days of Russia's invasion hopes the reopening of one of the oldest pubs in south Wales will help boost the local economy.
Vladyslav Krapyvka left her home in Kyiv with her youngest son after the Russian invasion in 2022. She ended up in the city of Newport in southeast Wales, and within a year and a half she had rented The Lamb pub.
The city centre pub closed in 2023 but reopened for St David's Day on 1 March this year. There was live music all weekend as the pub celebrated its 160th anniversary.
Vladislava oversaw the renovation of the building, which is a Grade II listed building. The woman's friends raised £25,000 (over $34,000) for the renovation.
PHOTO BY THE LAMB Photo caption: The Lamb on Bridge Street has reopened with celebrations to mark its 160th anniversary
Vladislava says she immediately noticed the pub when she arrived in Newport.
“I like Newport, I see great potential in this place. The residents of Newport are friendly and smiling,” Krapyvka said.
“But downtown Newport looks run down, I would like to change that, there are a lot of people here who work hard and they need a place where they can come and be well served.”.
Then the Tiny Rebel brewery in Newport announced that it was closing its bar on the High Street at the end of March, citing “declining footfall and rising costs.”.
The Lamb pub now features craft ales, lagers, ciders and other spirits from Wales and the rest of the UK. It will also feature alcohol from Ukraine.
“One of the vodkas is really unique, but I won’t sell it because the factory where it was produced no longer exists; it was in a territory that was bombed,” says Vladyslav.
“I also have a bottle of champagne from Bakhmut, where there was a sparkling wine factory, this sparkling wine is no longer there, at least not yet.”.
After arriving in Newport, Vladislava worked as a teacher's assistant at a local school, and then as a military translator.
Her parents and two older sons, both now students, remained in Ukraine, and she had not seen them for over two years.
“Every day I watch the news and talk to my family, they try to calm me down and say that “everything is fine.”.
“Of course, it’s very, very sad, people in the UK are very friendly and have a lot of compassion, but they still find it difficult to understand what’s going on in Ukraine right now.”.
“Live now”
Vladislava says that customers who return to The Lamb are happy that the pub has reopened.
Her family once owned a pub in Kyiv, but Vladyslav says pubs in Ukraine are “very different” from those in Britain.
“We don’t have ‘regulars’, visitors don’t often interact with the person behind the bar.”.
“I like that people here really want to get to know you, and once you get to know each other, you're almost like family.”.
Vladislava admits that it “pains” her to think about what will happen when her three-year residence permit expires next year. But she also adds that it was “important” for her not to sever ties with Ukraine.
“After the war started, I stopped making any plans. I just realized that my plans could be destroyed at any moment.”.
“When I see a door of opportunity, I open it. If it closes, I go to another door. I don’t have a single second to regret, because at any moment everything can be destroyed.”.
“This is probably the experience of all Ukrainians. We just have to live for today, because the next day may never come.”.
