The first Ukrainian refugees to arrive in Medway have recounted their epic journey from the war-torn country.

Irina Kulish and daughter Nastya fled their home in Kyiv last month in the wake of the Russian army's invasion, but now have a new home in Chatham thanks to the Callaghan family.

It was the end of long and arduous 1,700-mile journey for the mother and daughter, who described their ordeal from the comfort of the sofa in their new home this week.

"It was difficult to leave Ukraine," said Irina, 47. "I didn't know where I had to go, and nobody was there to wait for us.

"Around Kyiv it's dangerous. I had a good life there before – I have friends and relatives there.

"We left after the war started, at the beginning of March. It was dangerous and we heard the sound of bombs all the time."

Nastya, 12, explained how the Russian shells had come closer to the house before they took the decision to leave.

"Near our house is a field and I saw an explosion there," she recalled. "When there were explosions, it was very scary. We thought Russians would bomb the house."

And Irina added: "We were told to turn the lights off because a rocket could hit the house. All the houses turned off their lights in the evening.

"I liked the Russians before the war. I talked with Russian people every day, and I didn't see the difference between us before the war. I knew Russian people in Kyiv, and we are similar people. Now this has changed because they have killed our children in Ukraine.

"Russian people don't know about the situation in Ukraine now. They don't know about what's happening."

As the Russians advanced, Irina and Nastya took the decision to leave the capital and travel west to the Polish border, leaving husband Mikola at home.

"We moved to Lviv at first," said Irina. "When we came to Lviv we saw many people that were going to Poland. We decided to try to get on this train to go abroad, but we didn't know if we could do it. There was a lot of people on the train station – the line was maybe 2km long.

"Nastya was very tired."

Nastya added: "There was so many people that we almost fell under the train. People were pushing."

Help was on hand from volunteers giving out food and toys, and eventually the mother and daughter were able to get on the train.

"It was very difficult," said Irina. "And we were on there a very long time. We had to wait at the border for 18 hours on the train. Some people were standing up with small children. They were crying all the time, and Nastya wanted to sleep.

"When we were at Lviv things were normal but when we were at Poland it was awful," said Nastya. "We were on there nearly 20 hours because of the other trains waiting."

When they eventually crossed the Polish border they were greeted by volunteers and directed to a fair where they could get food and toys.

"We were surprised," said Irina. "There were many volunteers that smiled at us."

But she said there were still problems at every turn.

"I have a Ukrainian passport and they asked where my foreign passport was. They were surprised how I could leave Ukraine, but they stamped it.

"We asked one volunteer if there was a place to stay in this town. He said there wasn't any."

"We were at the train station at Przemysl, near the Ukrainian border, and then we didn't know what to do next.

"We asked one volunteer if there was a place to stay in this town. He said there wasn't any. Nastya was exhausted and I was very upset. We asked a volunteer what we should do, and he said we should move further to the big cities like Warsaw and Krakow.

"We got on a train to Warsaw – Nastya slept on the train but she had a very big pain in her legs.

"I couldn't walk on it so we went to hospital," recalled Nastya.

"She had boots on," added Irina. "And she hadn't taken off these boots in three days. Her legs were swollen and became so bad that she couldn't walk when we got to Warsaw."

"A volunteer called an ambulance, which came quickly. They saw her legs and took her to hospital. There was a very kind doctor and she spoke English, and Nastya was able to sleep.

"We had been travelling for three days by then. She slept for four or five hours, then we decided to go back to the train station and find a place where we could stay, but volunteers said there wasn't any place in Warsaw.

"We didn't know what to do because she couldn't walk at all still.

"Nastya sat on her suitcase and cried. I found a woman who could speak English, and she started trying to find a place for us. She called everyone, and she found somewhere and then they drove us to the hotel near Ostrow."

Finally they were able to find sanctuary at hotel Orion, in the village of Lubiejewo, 180 miles west of Warsaw.

"It was a very nice hotel with very nice people," added Irina. "We lived at this hotel for one month. We lived there for free and they gave us three meals a day. It was like home – it had a shower and a kitchen.

"It was nice food," added Nastya. "It was a buffet – there were different sweets and it was very good."

But it was only a temporary fix, as the hotel said the free accommodation would have to come to an end.

Meanwhile, back in England Eliza Callaghan – originally from Poland – had been searching for ways to help provide humanitarian aid via Polish Facebook sites.

Having got in touch with the Mayor of Alwernia in Poland, she was told of the situation with increasing numbers of women and children needing accommodation.

"At that stage we decided to sit down with the family to look to see whether we could take someone," she explained. "Then we found out about the government scheme that was going to happen.

"This was when we decided we would look to sponsor someone. We asked the mayor of Alwernia and asked around but none of them wanted to come to England. Most of them were from surrounding villages near Hoshcha and they have never been abroad.

"In their mind they didn't want to be anywhere except home, and Poland is better because it's not far."

But when Eliza posted a message offering her home on a Facebook site set up to help Ukrainians in Poland, Irina was the first to respond.

"I replied to her message on Facebook, and as soon as I sent it Eliza answered," said Irina. "I was very excited with this offer.

"It was such an amazing offer that I couldn't believe it was true. Many Ukrainian people don't believe it's possible to go to the UK, and other Ukrainian people said I was silly to think we could."

Having made contact on March 14, they set about the application process, and Eliza's husband David said they were lucky that Eliza is a solicitor.

"She deals with form-filling every day of the week," he said. "A lot of sponsors in the UK are asking refugees to fill in the application, but they're like a rabbit in the headlights. A lot of sponsors are providing a roof but they're not going the extra mile."

He added: "A lot of people have said that the UK was slow in its response, and you can argue that when you're looking at vulnerable people that need help straight away. But because of the way we've arranged the process it's given protection to Ukrainian refugees coming here.

"It also gives the hosts protection. We're not doing it for a day or week, it could be six months. And it's not just a roof over their head, it's about everything else.

"We're sorting out schools and doctors. I look at it as being a parent and looking after the children. I believe the way the government has gone about it is robust."

After nearly three weeks of sorting the red tape, Irina and Nastya were finally able to travel to England.

Eliza was able to organise a minibus through a friend, who picked them up from their hotel in Poland and drove them to the Callaghan's doorstep in Chatham.

A trip to Bluewater followed to buy some new clothes, before a meal at the Hengist restaurant in Aylesford - where Natsya enjoyed a burger despite accidentally using a fingerbowl of lukewarm water and lemon as burger sauce.

Laughing at the memories they're already making, the Callaghan and Kulish families are already forging a strong bond.

Nastya is also looking forward to making new friends at St John Fisher School, which were quick to offer a place after she was unable to find one at Olivia's school, Fort Pitt Grammar School.

"Nastya hasn't been to school for so many months," said Eliza. "Irina said she forgot about the war for a moment, suddenly they were safe."

When Irina phoned home to tell her brother Igor they were in England and that the Callaghans had even given them keys to their home, he was surprised.

"He said he wouldn't have done that," laughed David, but Eliza explained: "It's because we're family now. We've taken them under our wing.

"We're trying to give them an experience which they will always be able to take with them. If I do something good it goes around and comes back.

"They can take it back to Ukraine and make the country stronger."

Irina says she has been overwhelmed by the generosity, and hopes to return home to Ukraine after experiencing England, to teach Ukrainians about English people and culture.

"This is an amazing family, and very friendly," she said. "I have never met people in my life like this family. They're like my mum or my dad. "

"Nastya is sleeping very well, until 11am every day because she's very relaxed. It's very cool here," added Nastya. "I'm very happy."

But it seems she too will always remain Ukrainian at heart.

"Here is good but home is better," she said. Asked about the outcome of the war, she had a simple message: "I want Ukraine to win."