Three weeks have passed since the single mother Vita Dybalyuk and her daughter Kristina arrived in Blekinge by evening ferry from Poland, after a five-day journey from their hometown of Kyiv.

- Before we left Kyiv, we slept with clothes and shoes on for several nights, next to our packed backpacks.

We were ready to leave at any time, says Vita Dybalyuk.

She describes how the decision to leave her own home country was difficult to make.

- On the way out of Ukraine we saw the young soldiers.

I looked at them and felt ashamed that I had escaped.

We do not see them as an army, but our brothers, our family.

It hurt my heart.

Want to help other Ukrainians

There was no plan at first where they would go.

But a friend in Blekinge offered accommodation in Kallinge, where mother and daughter now live waiting for information from the Swedish Migration Board.

Vita Dybalyuk immediately decided that she wanted to spend her time in the new country helping other Ukrainians.

She contacted the Red Cross in Ronneby and has now started volunteering in their store in the city.

- It is a way to at least contribute something, she says.

Hear more in the clip above.