Ukrainian children given home by Yvette Cooper after fleeing war have kept up with ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ ballroom training

Ms Cooper and husband Ed Balls, who used to be MP for Morley and Outwood, have given a home to a mum and her two daughters after they fled Ukraine.

In March last year when taking part in a Strictly Come Dancing fundraiser for Leeds Rhinos’ legend Rob Burrow’s motor neurone disease charity she spoke to a dancer from Ukraine.

As a result her office was able to help several families find places to stay in the Five Towns area.

Two families who knew each other at home were able to live nearby to each other in Castleford and their children, who were dance partners in Ukraine at an international level were able to carry on their training in West Yorkshire.

Kateryna Kenia and her children Yeva Drozhzhyna and Hlib Drozhzhyna are staying with Yvette, while arrangements were made for the other family to live nearby.

Yana Postupailo moved to a nearby address with her daughter, also called Yeva, and son Zakhar who is Yeva’s Drozhzhyna dance partner.

Ms Cooper said: "It's lovely having Kateryna and the children staying with us but it’s also awful they are separated from their own families – from their dad and grandparents.

"They managed to go home to visit over Christmas but there's still the bombardment, power cuts and very difficult conditions. There are still serious problems because the war is not over.

Yeva, 12, and Zakhar, 11, have managed to continue training and won a dancing tournament in Blackpool before Christmas.

Ms Cooper said: “I think dancing is really important when they are so talented and it's important to make sure the families could stay together despite the war.

"It's great to see how many people have been helping and supporting them.

“For children especially, keeping going with something as important as dancing through thick and thin is great to see. It's one of many ways Britain and Yorkshire have been doing their bit to support Ukraine through Putins' war crimes and aggression.

“You listen to them talk about how they have had to see their homes, maybe having to leave with only 20 minutes’ warning, not knowing if they can return, travelling on packed trains, being stuck in stations - those are stories we think of as being part of the Second World War but it is happening today in Europe.”

She said Airedale Methodist Church has given them space to practice and a local dance academy as well as schools had been supporting them.

One of the other Ukrainian mums has learned English from scratch and is working as a nurse in Castleford.

Ms Cooper said: “It's another example of how impressive all the Ukrainian families have been despite what they're going through.”

Mr Balls was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, surviving until week 10.

Since the war began, hundreds of Ukrainians fleeing the conflict have made the district their new home.

There are currently 138 sponsors providing a home to 181 adults and 89 children.

Forty-two Ukrainians are now living independently, with the council directly involved in supporting them, to help them settle into their new lives.