John Caudwell and Modesta Vzesniauskaite offer their home to Ukrainian refugees

The couple said the situation of those caught up in the conflict was ‘beyond comprehension’.
John Caudwell and Modesta Vzesniauskaite offer their home to Ukrainian refugees (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
PA Wire
Mike Bedigan21 March 2022

Businessman John Caudwell and former Olympian Modesta Vzesniauskaite have joined a number of high-profile figures offering their homes to Ukrainian refugees.

The couple said the situation of those caught up in the conflict was “beyond comprehension” as they kicked off a campaign to encourage other wealthy individuals to help.

Speaking to Hello! Magazine, Ms Vzesniauskaite, who was born in Lithuania, also shared memories of “fear and trauma” from her childhood, and the Soviet Union’s attempts to occupy her country on Bloody Sunday in 1991.

“I feel heartbroken for the people whose lives have been destroyed,” said Mr Caudwell, who is offering his detached two-bedroom Coach House in the grounds of his Staffordshire mansion to refugees.

Mr Caudwell (centre) and Ms Vzesniauskaite (right) have joined a number of high-profile figures offering their homes to Ukrainian refugees (Ian West/PA)
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“Picture yourself in that situation… you’ve got no home, and the fear of death and being murdered on the street is constant.

“It’s beyond comprehension.”

Ms Vzesniauskaite sympathised with the young victims of the violence, saying: “I know from experience the fear and trauma that the children and families in Ukraine are going through.

“It’s a feeling of terror I will never forget.

“On Friday 11 January 1991 when I was eight years old an alarm went off at school and a teacher said, ‘Run home quickly! The Russians are coming to occupy Lithuania.’

“I was terrified and ran so fast. For three days my family sat in the house feeling terrified.

“The Russian soldiers passed through my city to take the capital Vilnius and a lot of people were killed. But thank God that two days later Lithuania found freedom.”

Ms Vzesniauskaite was in Lithuania visiting her sick father when the Russian invasion began, and said as soon as she returned home she had urged her husband to help support those displaced by the conflict.

“When I see those mothers who had to leave their husbands behind to fight for their country and are now trying to keep their children safe, I feel their pain and how scared they must be, not knowing what will happen tomorrow,” she continued.

“When I returned home, I said, ‘John, we have to do something. We have to help.’”

Oscar-nominated actor Benedict Cumberbatch and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer are among other well-known figures in the UK who hope to take in Ukrainian refugees.

The full interview with Mr Caudwell and Ms Vzesniauskaite is available in Hello!

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