Ukrainian refugee reopens Welsh pub

Having left Kyiv following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, Vladyslava Krapyvka has now taken charge of The Lamb pub in her new home of Newport, Wales.

One of Krapyvka’s earliest experiences of Newport, where she arrived with her teenage son, was seeing the Grade II-listed pub, as she told Wales Online: “The first time I saw The Lamb was in the middle of March 2022 when I had just arrived to Newport.”]

The following year the historic boozer would close down. Indeed, Krapyvka’s first impressions of the pub were reportedly somewhat mixed: “I visited it and it looked very old but nice and I felt this is a place with history. At the same time it looked a bit sad and tired. I felt sorry for regulars of The Lamb when it shut down. Places like this are a part of the city. They can’t just disappear or stay neglected.”

Having run a pub back in the Ukrainian capital, Krapyvka said that she knew “the culture of the appreciation of beer, ale, and cider”: “I want to share the lovely ales that I have found with the people of Newport.”

Krapyvka, and her friends and family have invested some £25,000 into renovating the pub, which celebrates its 160th anniversary this year.

Reopening last week in time for a St. David’s Day celebration, she revealed the latest tap lineup: “At opening we [had] ales from Hive Mind Brewery of Caldicot, Misfit Brewery of Caerphilly, and Zulu Alpha Brewery of Caldicot as well as stouts from Anglo Oregon Brewery in Newport.”

However, as reported by BBC News, the war in her home country has meant that Krapyvka is not able to sell certain drinks at The Lamb due to supply issues: “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.” Instead, the bottle will be displayed.

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

Krapyvka’s visa is due to expire next year, however, whether or not she is allowed to stay in the UK, she is taking a stoic stance.

“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.”

Krapyvka is not the only Ukrainian entrepreneur to have taken refuge in the UK. In 2022, Fedir Haidai set up a business to bring Ukrainian vodka to the British market.