A Ukrainian woman who used to teach kickboxing in North Wales has featured in a video describing the terrifying moment she hears an explosion nearby.
The Russian invasion of the country began last week and many communities around the world - including in North Wales - have done what they can to send urgent supplies to devastated Ukranians.
Viktoria Komarova, or Vika, began working with Russ Williams the former double world kickboxing champion from Flintshire, around 2007.
Russ runs gyms in Wrexham and Caerwys and was teaching in Kyiv when the 2013 protest began, which forced him the leave the country and hasn’t been back since.
He has stayed in contact with his Ukrainian friends, including Vika, and was planning to return before the pandemic.
The war came as a shock to them all as they did not think it would happen.
Vika is now beautician back in Ukraine with her family and was looking into the possibility of coming back to North Wales when the war began.
According to Russ, Vika had loved North Wales and even began to learn the Welsh language, earning a certificate. She featured in the Leader and the Denbighshire Free Press numerous times during her stay.
He said: “I met her in Ukraine, and she was really good in the kickboxing and then we got a visa for her to come over to North Wales to train and she loved it here. She was doing really good in the sport and was helping me with the kids classes.
“She went back to Ukraine and was teaching a bit there. She was hoping to get another visa but we had problems at the time and we couldn’t get another visa for her and then she had to make a decision.”
By the time her visa had been approved it was too late and she was committed to staying in Ukraine with her family.
She has kept in contact with Russ and once the war began, she pulled together a short video to tell her story, and those who face similar situations in Ukraine.
In it, she says: "Just now there was an explosion in the house nearby and now we are hiding in the basement and all the family is with us.
"We were taking a video for our Western neighbours to help us and there was a bomb and after that we started hiding in here."
You can Watch the video here:
About the video, Russ said: “It’s terrible. Each time I watch it I feel so sad about it.”
He explained that one friend of his, who had helped organise his trips to Ukraine and works as a teacher, now owns a gun, and patrols his town with others.
He added: “In a week people’s lives can just turn upside down. We're just hoping for peace.
“They are my friends. I really feel sometimes like going over to help them, to fight with them, because I know if I was in trouble here, they would come over here to fight for me but I’m just trying to do what we can.”
Russ had been using his gym as a drop off centre for donations and has been overwhelmed.
Russ continues to try to help raise awareness to the lives of Ukrainians during the war and can see that pople have become united in trying to help them.
He also has friends in Russia and Belarus who have been talking to him about the war.
READ MORE: Wrexham Council to light up Guildhall in Ukrainian colours as sign of solidarity
He said: “They were just upset and ashamed about it. They just feel so bad, because it all used to be one country, the Soviet Block and with history together there are so many relatives and relations in the different countries. There’s just no point in the war. This is the annoying thing.”
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