Ukrainian woman gives Welsh pub new lease of life

A woman who fled war-torn Ukraine hopes that reopening one of the oldest pubs in south Wales can help provide a boost to the local economy.

Vladyslava Krapyvka left her home in Kyiv along with her youngest son after Russia’s invasion in 2022, and has taken on the lease of The Lamb in Newport.

The city centre pub closed in 2023, but welcomed back customers on St David’s Day with a weekend of live music to celebrate its 160th birthday.

Ms Krapyvka has now overseen a £25,000 renovation of the Grade II listed building, paid for with the help of friends.

She said The Lamb was one of the first places she noticed when she first arrived in Newport.

“I like Newport, I can see really big potential in this place. The people of Newport are very friendly and smiley," Ms Krapyvka said.

“But the centre of Newport looks abandoned, I would like to change the situation, there are lots of people working very hard here, and they need to have a place here in the centre of Newport, where they can come to a small pub and they can have good service."

It comes as Newport brewery Tiny Rebel announced it would be closing its bar on the city's High Street at the end of March, citing "decreasing footfall and rising operating costs".

The Lamb, on Bridge Street, will stock craft ales, lagers, ciders and spirits produced in Wales and the rest of the UK, and will also display products from Ukraine.

“One of the vodkas is really unique, I will not sell it because the plant it was made in was on territory that was bombed, so the plant doesn't exist anymore. Ms Krapyvka said.

“I have one bottle from Bakhmut, where there was a plant which made sparkling wine, this sparkling wine does not exist anymore, for the time being at least."

After arriving in Newport, Vladyslava worked as a teaching assistant in a local school, and then later as a military interpreter.

Her parents and two older sons, both currently students, are still based in Ukraine, and she hasn't seen them in nearly three years.

“Everyday I check the news and speak to my family, they try to calm me down and say to me ‘everything is OK’.

“Obviously it’s very, very sad, people in the UK are very friendly, and have a lot of empathy, but at the same time, nobody can understand how it is in Ukraine."

Vladyslava said customers returning to The Lamb had been “happy” to see the pub open again.

Her family used to run a pub in Kyiv, but she said that bars in Ukraine, were “very different” to local pubs in the UK.

“We don’t have ‘regulars’, it’s not very often people will speak to the person behind the bar.

“It's good here that people really want to get to know you, and you get to know them, so you’re almost like a family.

Vladyslava admits it's “painful” to think what will happen when her three-year permanent resident’s visa expires next year, adding it was “important” to her not to break any connections with Ukraine.

“After the war started, I stopped making any plans. I just understood that my plans could be ruined any second and at any moment.

“When I see a door of opportunity, I will open it. If it closes, I will go to another door. I don’t have another second for regrets, because at any moment, anything can be destroyed.

“This is probably the experience of all Ukrainians. You just need to live in the moment, because maybe the next day will never come.”