Inga Zamolynska (pictured), outpatient patient experience coordinator at our Trust, grew up in Ukraine and, along with the rest of the world, is watching the Russian invasion of her home country in horror.

However, unlike most of us, Inga is desperately concerned about her relatives who still live there, including her 73-year-old mum, Hanna.

Inga said: “I just want to get my mum here so I know she’s safe. While she visits me a lot she has always wanted to stay in Ukraine as it’s her home, and even now she is reluctant to leave. She doesn’t want to be a burden to anyone.

“I also have five cousins, one who had a baby six months ago. They’ve had to flee Lviv and go back to our home village, which is in the west of Ukraine and further from main roads. They will often hear sirens go off and have to hide in shelters. Friends and relatives are telling me about babies being born in basements and families struggling to feed their children. It’s so scary and while the village where my family are is quiet for now, how long will that last?”

Inga first came to the UK as a student in 2004, planning to work on a farm and raise some money for university, then go back to Ukraine. However, she met her partner, Christian, and settled here instead, and now has a daughter, 12, and four-year-old son.

Unsurprisingly, she’s finding keeping up her daily life of work and looking after her children a challenge as her thoughts are constantly on what’s happening back home.

She added; “It’s always on my mind and gets a little harder each day. I feel lost as I can’t understand what’s happening. There was a revolution in 2014 and my mum said then this would lead to war. But I didn’t think this would happen.

“My partner is being very supportive, so are my colleagues and lots of friends have been contacting me. My cousin knows boys who are going off the war and said they are in high spirits and so brave. The people in Ukraine are more united now than ever. Everyone is pulling together to help each other.”

Inga also has sympathy for Russian people who are not in support of this invasion, yet are being affected by sanctions, and arrested for protesting against the acts of their leader.

She will be spending this weekend gathering much-needed supplies, such as clothes, toiletries and medicines, to send back home. If anyone would like to help support those affected in Ukraine, you can donate online to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.