{"id":18511,"date":"2026-07-19T08:35:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T08:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/18511\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T08:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T08:35:13","slug":"i-thought-i-would-go-back-to-ukraine-but-edinburgh-is-home-now-for-one-reason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/18511\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I thought I would go back to Ukraine but Edinburgh is home now for one reason’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Ukrainian<\/a> refugee from war-torn northern Kharkiv has spoken of how the universal language of boxing<\/a> helped him to assimilate to life in Edinburgh.<\/p>\n

Yehor Tsoma,17, was 12 when he was forced to leave his home city with his mum Maryna and his little brother. The family had been forced to use shelters as Russian bombs rained down on them.<\/p>\n

Shortly after leaving for Edinburgh in 2022, his community in Kharkiv was taken over by Russian forces, with Yehor’s old school used as a base for the occupying forces. His father remained in the country and his grandmother became trapped in Russian occupied Kharkiv.<\/p>\n

Thankfully she was able to travel to Edinburgh following a gruelling 34-hour journey to Russia, then Poland before making it to the Scottish capital. After initially suffering from home sickness, Yehor now describes Edinburgh as where he belongs.<\/p>\n

However there is no where he feels more at home than in the boxing ring. Under the stewardship of his Granton<\/a> coach, Sean Spence, the Shore Boxing star has gone on to win two Scottish titles at junior and youth level and a bronze in the UK youth championships at 70kg.<\/p>\n

\"Yehor<\/p>\n

Yehor was saddened to see what had become of his home city of Kharkiv. -Credit:REACH PLC<\/p>\n

But this year he aims to bring the youth British title back to his new home in Slateford.<\/p>\n

Yehor said: “Life back in Kharkiv was probably the same as here – school, boxing, homework, extra training, then repeat. I started boxing when I was about seven or eight.<\/p>\n

“My mum got me into boxing because I was a very active child. She said I needed somewhere to spend my energy.<\/p>\n

“I’d only had a couple of fights before we left Ukraine because I was still young. Leaving home was very difficult, I was just 12-years-old.<\/p>\n

“We would regularly have to use bomb shelters when the Russians attacked. At times I was scared but I didn’t fully understand what was going on because I was still young.<\/p>\n

\"Firefighters<\/p>\n

Firefighters respond to a residential building in the bombed city of Kharkiv in 2022. -Credit:2022 Anadolu Agency<\/p>\n

“In a way, I became used to it. It was difficult leaving my dad and grandma, but thankfully she is with us now in Scotland.”<\/p>\n

Yehor and his family have travelled home as regularly as they can but it has been a difficult journey to undertake emotionally. His neighbourhood in Kharkiv saw some of the fiercest fighting of the conflict, with the area suffering extensive damage.<\/p>\n

He said: “Kharkiv was already badly damaged when I left. I went back a year ago and it was even more damaged.<\/p>\n

“They’re still rebuilding now but it hurts seeing what’s happened to my city. When the war first started, I missed Kharkiv so much because it was my favourite city in the world.”<\/p>\n

Yehor and his family were some of the first refugees to arrive in Scotland, securing sponsorship through longtime family friends who had settled in Edinburgh from Poland. After around a year of sharing their home, they moved into their own property in Slateford.<\/p>\n

\"Yehor<\/p>\n

Yehor has made Edinburgh his home after arriving as a refugee from war-torn Ukraine. -Credit:REACH PLC<\/p>\n

On arriving, he said: “On day one finding a school was my first priority and on the second it was finding a boxing gym. I arrived on April 20th and by the 27th I had my first session.<\/p>\n

“Boxing helped me forget everything, I started making friends through boxing and school. When I’m boxing I just focus on punching and not getting hit.<\/p>\n

“Boxing helped me to settle here. I got used to Edinburgh quickly.<\/p>\n

“It is the perfect city to live in. I feel at home here.<\/p>\n

“I think Edinburgh is the perfect city to live in. I’ve got my boxing gym, my friends and almost all my family here. It is now my favourite city.”<\/p>\n

It took Yehor six months to get his boxing card but when he did, he arrived in the ring with a bang. Despite breaking his finger before his first fight, he defeated his opponent with aplomb.<\/p>\n

\"Yehor<\/p>\n

Yehor took up boxing on the advice of his mum.<\/p>\n

He said: “Boxing is different here, I think in Ukraine we are more about technique but here, it’s all about power and I had to adapt. There are times where I ask myself why am I putting myself through this but I love sparring, I just love winning.<\/p>\n

“Having your hand raised is probably the best feeling I’ve ever had. You put in all those hours in the gym and then it pays off, people congratulate you and it just makes it worthwhile.”<\/p>\n

It has not been plain sailing for Yehor, as a string of defeats had him considering hanging up his gloves. He describes losing as feeling ‘horrible’ and after a loss to a Scottish champion his future in the sport was in doubt.<\/p>\n

But his coach talked him round, organised a sparring session with the aforementioned champion, and Yehor dismantled him before going on to fell another, heavier, Scottish champion from the same gym.<\/p>\n

\"Bombed<\/p>\n

Bombed buildings in the residential neighborhood near Kharkiv Metro Station in Kharkiv in 2022. -Credit:2022 Anadolu Agency<\/p>\n

On the drive back to Edinburgh with his coach Sean, he decided “boxing is still for me.” Sean, who had an extremely successful amateur boxing career winning Scottish and British titles as well as travelling the world as a fighter and later as a coach, set up Shore Boxing gym in Granton where he coaches Yehor.<\/p>\n

Their partnership has seen Yehor achieve a junior and youth Scottish championship title. As well as a youth British championship bronze.<\/p>\n

Sean said: “We met at another gym but after about a year we built a bond. He’s a hard nut to crack, one of the most respectful boys you’ll meet, he’s quiet and just gets on with it.<\/p>\n

“I could tell right away he was intelligent but I’ll be honest, he didn’t have natural talent. Where he lacked in that department he more than made up for it with hard work.<\/p>\n

“He’s got a deep soul and his work ethic is unbelievable. If I tell him to do something, he’ll do it 110 per cent.<\/p>\n

\"Yehor<\/p>\n

Yehor and his coach Sean have British domination in their sights. -Credit:REACH PLC<\/p>\n

“That’s why he’ll do well in life and in the ring. He comes from a good background, Eastern Europeans are respectful people and he carries that with him.<\/p>\n

“It did take time to create his style, he’s a hybrid. We’ve tried to merge the Ukrainian style with Scottish boxing and I think he has the best of both worlds.<\/p>\n

“That’s why he’s successful. When he was close to quitting I stuck him in the ring with the guy who beat him and told Yehor to show me that Ukrainian Thunder.<\/p>\n

“He absolutely destroyed him and the following year he won the Scottish championship. When Yehor first came over he was a quiet young lad from a war-torn country.<\/p>\n

“He wasn’t always given loads of attention. He’s had ups and downs but what he needed most was time, belief and someone to nurture him.<\/p>\n

\"Bombed<\/p>\n

Bombed residential building in Kharkiv after a Russian attack in 2022. -Credit:2022 Anadolu Agency<\/p>\n

“That’s important in boxing and it’s important in life.”<\/p>\n

Yehor, despite his boxing talent, doesn’t have an eye on a professional career under the dazzling lights. His good grades and academic prowess are instead steering him in the direction of studying architecture at Edinburgh University when he leaves Firhill High School.<\/p>\n

He said: “I don’t really want to turn professional. I’d like to have a good amateur career and become an architect after studying at Edinburgh.<\/p>\n

“What I love most about Edinburgh is how it looks, the architecture is beautiful. A couple of years ago I thought I’d go back to Ukraine but now I don’t.<\/p>\n

“It feels like I’m home now.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Ukrainian refugee from war-torn northern Kharkiv has spoken of how the universal language of boxing helped him…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18512,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7286,7285,7284,26],"class_list":["post-18511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-boxing-ring","tag-edinburgh","tag-sean-spence","tag-ukraine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}