Ukrainian woman gives Welsh pub new lease of life

Vladyslava Krapyvka left her home in Kyiv along with her youngest son after Russia’s invasion in 2022. She 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. The Lamb, on Bridge Street, will stock craft ales, lagers, ciders and spirits.

It will also display products from Ukraine. Tiny Rebel announced it would be closing its bar on the city’s High Street at the end of March. 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.

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

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