B&NES Council champions initiatives for area’s Ukrainian community

A children’s adventure book and a community radio show are among two Ukrainian-led projects being highlighted and supported by Bath & North East Somerset Council.

Cllr Kevin Guy with Leo and Zhenya Shkil | Photo © B&NES Council

One of the initiatives is a new children’s novella now available in the council’s libraries: Vitalii Petrenko and the Secret of the Roman Baths, written by Claire Bramwell-Pearson and illustrated by Ukrainian artist Alexandra Dikaia on behalf of the Friends of Oleksandriya.

Printed in Kyiv, the book has already appeared at the Bath Children’s Literature Festival. It tells the story of Vitalii, a young footballer who flees the war and finds refuge in Bath, where he encounters a legendary three-headed dragon hidden beneath the Roman Baths.

The title received its official launch at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution on 8th November.

The council is also backing The Ukrainian Hour, a weekly show on Somer Valley FM, through the latest round of its Ukraine Support Grant.

The programme offers Ukrainian refugees the chance to share stories, music and cultural perspectives, helping to build confidence and community connections.

A £2,500 grant will fund media workshops for the local Ukrainian community, new programme content and advanced broadcast training for presenter Vira Niskoromnykh, who came to Bath after fleeing the invasion in 2022.

Council leader Councillor Kevin Guy said the authority is “proud to continue supporting our Ukrainian friends in any way we can,” praising Vira’s work in “promoting integration, and amplifying diverse voices through local radio” and welcoming the way the Vitalii story “reinforces Bath’s solidarity with Ukraine in an imaginative way.”

Zhenya Shkil, founder and trustee of the Friends of Oleksandriya, said a small project to help children in Oleksandriya learn English has grown into a story that is “inspiring kindness and friendship among children in both Ukraine and the UK” and is becoming a firm favourite with young readers across Bath and North East Somerset.

They said they are “overjoyed” that the book will be stocked in local libraries, where it can “nurture compassion, understanding, and hope in future generations.”

Somer Valley FM founder and executive director Dom Chambers described presenter Vira Niskoromnykh as “an amazing person who has created a community through community radio,” adding that her weekly show both welcomes people displaced by war and helps audiences across the South West understand “the richness and beauty of Ukrainian culture and the value it brings to us all.”