Ukrainian refugees told to leave hotel next month

One of almost 60 Ukrainian refugees who have been told they have a month to leave a Perthshire hotel says she hopes to be able to stay in the area.

Nataliia Parkhomenko has been living in the Killin Hotel since July and expected to be there until February.

The refugees have now been told that they will have to leave their temporary accommodation next month.

The Scottish government said it was doing what it could to accommodate people wishing to stay in Killin.

Its minister for refugees from Ukraine said it was constantly reviewing its temporary accommodation provision and did not expect people to be rebuilding their lives from hotels.

Nataliia has worked in a local cafe near the hotel for two months and said she felt at home in the area.

She told BBC Scotland’s The Nine: “I don’t feel like a refugee here.

“It’s really good because people here try to help a lot with, for example, to find a place to work, or to help with English classes.”

Nataliia said she was surprised when she was told the refugees would have to relocate.

“We built our plans according to this schedule,” she said. “But I understand the hotel where we live, it’s like temporary accommodation for us.

“So we will be happy with any other place the government will give us to live.”

Nataliia works with three other Ukrainians at the Real Food Cafe in Killin.

Owner Sarah Heward said she was devastated at the prospect of potentially losing them.

She said: “This is real, this is people’s lives. It’s people’s livelihoods.”

The refugees came to Scotland under the super sponsor scheme.

Neil Gray, the Scottish government’s minister for refugees from Ukraine, said hotels by their nature were temporary accommodation.

He said the government wanted the refugees to be in long-term, sustainable accommodation.

He added: “A lot of people had contacted us wanting to move into a more central location

“We don’t expect people to be building their lives from hotel accommodation. We’re also wanting to give people choice over where they are staying.

“So for some people in Killin, they want to be closer to Stirling.

“We understand that and we’ll do what we can to offer that opportunity.

“For those that are keen to stay in Killin, we’re working with the hotel and Stirling Council to ensure that we can offer people that choice.”

A Stirling Council spokesperson said: “We are continuing to work with guests to support moves from temporary accommodation, based on their individual needs.”