Hey Duggee/BBC/PA Wire

Hey Duggee will welcome some new characters to the show, from Ukraine

To help Ukrainian children feel at home in the UK, a new episode of CBeebies' Hey Duggee will have new Ukrainian friends join the show.

The episode will also feature singing from Ukrainian children living in the UK, singing in their native language.

Ukrainian phrases will be translated into English by Duggee and his friends, the squirrels and the hummingbirds.

The episode hopes to welcome Ukrainian children to the UK and show that friendship can cross any language barrier!

Hey Duggee/BBC/PA Wire

Duggee and his friends will welcome the new characters in, along with Ukrainian children all over the UK

Earlier this year when the Russian invasion of Ukraine started, more than 100,000 people from Ukraine left their country and came to the UK.

They left their home country as refugees, and hundreds of thousands more moved all across Europe.

A refugee is someone who leaves their country due to war, persecution, or difficulty.

Ukrainian children have been welcomed into schools across the UK, made friends and joined new communities.

You can find out more about how Ukrainian children are settling into UK schools here.

Now on CBeebies, a new episode of Hey Duggee hopes to make Ukrainian children feel even more welcome.

Polina is one of many young Ukrainians who started at a new school in the UK

Duggee will be joined by two new characters, Mavka and Swampy, characters from the Ukrainian film 'Mavka. The Forest Song'.

Characters will sing a 'Welcome Song' to make Mavka and Swampy feel at home.

As well as translated Ukrainian phrases, children around the UK from Ukraine were invited to sing for the soundtrack of the episode.

Felix Richter, who helped produce the episode, says he hopes the episode will "help thousands of children see the value of friendship across language barriers".

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