Ukraine: Yorkshire student from Kyiv tells of the moment he knew "something was horribly wrong" after his father was caught in strikes

The University of Sheffield student, 20, is originally from Kyiv but travelled to the UK to study journalism. Both of his parents live in the region - his mother in the city, and his father in the surrounding countryside.

Until the country woke up on Thursday morning to news of the strikes, Mr Yalahuzian had clung to the belief that despite threats, Putin would not attack Kyiv.

He told the Yorkshire Post: “I really really didn't think that Putin was going to invade.

“I woke up on Thursday quite early, and I saw my phone was just bombarded with notifications.

“I kind of understood that something was wrong. Then my dad texted me at 5am and he said ‘Everything's going to be fine. I love you.’

“Which is really unusual. He's normally very calm, collected, and he's not very emotional. So, he would rarely say something like that.. So I understood something was horribly wrong.

“I called him straightaway, and he said that he woke up from sounds like shelling and gunfire, and the whole house was shaking.”

Mr Yalahuzian’s father was unharmed in the strikes, and for now has decided to remain in the region, as thousands of others flee - many on foot.

His mother is also remaining in Kyiv, where Mr Yalahuzian said she is constantly on the phone with loved ones to reassure them they will be alright.

But reassurances can only go so far when you’re over 1600 miles away from your family, as Mr Yalahuzian has found out.

“It’s so strange to say, but I really wish I was back in Kyiv,” he said. “That might be hard to understand, but it’s just a strange feeling that I need to be there to do something about it.”

He knows he is limited as to what he can do from Sheffield, but, moved to action, he spent Thursday afternoon stood outside the city’s Town Hall with a Ukrainian flag, where he was joined by several others who wanted to show solidarity.

And after his awareness-raising rally, it was back home to keep up with the news and to check in with friends and family who, Mr Yaluhuzian said, are the only ones who could possibly understand what he’s going through.

“We're all going through the same feelings that I don't think anyone else outside Ukraine or who aren’t Ukrainians can, really, truly relate to,” he said.

That solidarity is one that is also felt across the region by members of the Ukrainian diaspora, many of whom are members of community groups determined to rally and support those who remain in the country.

Petro Dorotiak, who lives in Huddersfield, was visiting his daughter who studies abroad in Berlin this week.

On seeing the news of the strikes, Mr Dorotiak, 48, began to juggle going to rallies across the German capital, including one at the Brandenburg Gate, and helping to organise community efforts in Huddersfield.

The IT business owner, who is a second-generation UK citizen, has family members in Western Ukraine, said: “They’ve all been in denial because of everything that was said before. But now they’re absolutely panicking.”

The panic is shared by so many people in Huddersfield trying to both keep calm and keep track of family and friends.

The town’s Ukrainian Club is aiming to bring everyone together as the desperate wait for news continues.

Mr Dorotiak said: “We have some members who are first generation over here and their families are back home

“So what we're doing is bringing everyone for a chat and to give support. Everyone’s so upset.

“For myself, my father passed away a while ago. But he got to see a free Ukraine, and that was one of the biggest things he ever wanted to see in his life. And for that to be taken away now - in this day and age - is just ludicrous.

“We’ve been at rallies outside the Russian Embassy and the Brandenburg in Berlin, it’s been surreal.

“It’s not just Germans, there were also Moldovans and Latvians there.”

The club, part of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB) is also working to decide the best way both members and non-members can support Ukraine financially whether through medical supplies and aid or direct contributions to military efforts.

Ewhen Chymera, 34, is one of the co-ordinators of AUGB in Leeds and Bradford, and also has family members in western Ukraine.

He has helped planned awareness events to take place over the weekend, including a minute’s applause at Bradford City’s game against Mansfield Town and the lighting of council buildings in both cities.

Mr Chymera, a Leeds City Council employee, said: “It’s completely surreal. We all hoped and prayed we wouldn’t be in this situation.

“It’s just really frightening. We’ve been in touch with family and friends across Ukraine, who were very calm - but now there’s panic.

“We feel powerless. We’re very distant - and we’re doing what we can but is it making a difference? I don’t know.

“A lot of my family have plans to move out or have already moved out to the villages where they think it’s safer.

“My brothers-in-laws live in a city right on the Russian border and there’s queues at every ATMS, the roads are full of traffic of everyone trying to escape.”

Mr Chymera warned that the impending refugee crisis from Ukraine would be comparable to that seen in Afghanistan last summer and implored the UK to show the same hospitality.

He said: “The UK government was very supportive of Afghan refugees and we hope they’ll offer their support to Ukrainian refugees. We have established communities here in West Yorkshire, and if they do arrive, those regions ought to be allowed to take Ukrainians in.”

Ivan Kuzio, 60, lives in Halifax and is also an AUGB member. For him, the comparisons to the 1930s are stark.

He said: “Putin is doing exactly what he wants. Sadly we’re in a situation where it’s very similar to 1938 and 1939.

“Appeasement doesn’t work. It never works.”

He has called on people to boycott performances of Russian ballet and opera. “People are beginning to realise now, this is really a serious issue, which doesn't just affect Ukrainian people. It affects everybody in the free world.”