UKRAINIAN refugees who have fled the Russian invasion of their country were treated to a special Chanukah event.

They were joined at the South Hampstead synagogue last month by Kyiv’s chief Rabbi, Yonatan Markovitch, who was visiting the Belsize Park-based Shul.

The Shul has opened its doors over the past few months for regular English lessons for refugees who have found homes in Camden.

The majority of those attending are not Jewish – but have been given an open and warm welcome for them at the place of worship in Eton Road.

Volunteers host two lesson sessions a week to help improve their English, help with housing, and make sure they have somewhere to turn to when in need.

As the Jewish Festival of Light began, Rabbi Markovitch spoke with refugees about the story of Chanukah and told them about the situation back home.

The Rabbi has lived in Kyiv for 22 years and has been the head of the city’s synagogue. When war broke out last year, he continued to hold services and look after the community until he was able to escape an increasingly dangerous situation.

He had been forced to live underground in air raid shelters before doing so.

Rabbi Markovitch described the journey west taken with his wife as “…a high-speed drive in the dead of night, through roadless fields, past axe- and knife-wielding Ukrainian volunteer soldiers, supported by miracles and lead by angels.”