Lyudmils Shelton, 21, at border control training in December 2020. Photo / Supplied
Ukraine-born Pāpāmoa woman Lyudmyla Shelton hasn't been able to go to work or leave her bed since war was declared.
"I'm crying so much," the distraught Shelton said.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has seen airstrikes on cities and military bases and troops and tanks enter the country from three sides in an attack that has been described as "full-scale war".
In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has imposed a "blanket ban" on travel and any exports that could end up in military use in Russia.
Some of about 40 New Zealanders in the Ukraine area had received consular help to leave.
Shelton, former owner of Luda Hair Salon in Rotorua, was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and fears she may never see her 21-year-old son Lyudmils Shelton again.
Lyudmils was in training to be a Ukrainian border control officer. Now he will be sent to the frontlines of the conflict with Russia.
"He asked me not to panic. He said he is strong and not afraid of the invasion.
"I pray for my beautiful son, all Ukrainian soldiers and innocent people who have no time to run."
Shelton said she believed there was no chance for Ukrainian citizens to be saved.
"I just heard from my son. He said he would stand with his fellow Ukrainians, protect his family and his grandparents to his last breath, to the last drop of his blood."
She does not know when or if she will hear from her son again.
"I'm so sorry. I cannot stop crying."
Without help from the EU or the rest of the world, Shelton said, Ukraine will fall.
Mt Cats and Yaks owner Nevan Lancaster said he had three good friends in Ukraine where he visited three times between 2011 and 2017.
"It's a beautiful country with beautiful people, who have been subjected to this sort of dictatorial treatment from Russia for centuries."
Lancaster said one of his friends, who lives on the outskirts of Kyiv was Russian-born, and his wife was Ukrainian and they have three children.
"Understandably my friend feels betrayed by Putin's actions and is very upset, and they are scared of what might happen next."
Most Russians also feel betrayed by France, Italy and Germany's failure to take action, which has only played into Putin's hands, he said.
"Putin has definitely lost the plot."
Lancaster also said the time for talking about imposing sanctions was over and New Zealand needs to step up and do the right thing, including sending aid to Ukraine, whether it's military or humanitarian, or both.
Former Tauranga mayor and colonel Tenby Powell said: "We should all be deeply concerned.
"We haven't seen anything like this since 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. This has all the same hallmarks of that."
Powell has served in the regular and reserve forces of the New Zealand Army since 1983 and holds the rank of colonel.
He said Russia has used Ukraine's northern, eastern, and southern entry points in a pincer move to entrap Kyiv and shoot down unwelcome aircraft. Motorised armed divisions and combat armies were also in play.
"Imagine tanks rolling down Cameron Rd, that's exactly what's happening over there," Powell said.
"The reality is there are already people dead, children without parents."
Powell believed the Ukraine citizen-soldiers would have the motivation of fighting for their country to help push them through the conflict, compared to Russian soldiers following orders.
However, "I don't believe Ukraine can do this by themselves".
He hoped Nato forces were preparing a swift response to stop any further bloodshed now the battle has become an urban combat.
"I served with both Ukraine and Russians and had a great relationship with both, particularly the Ukrainian. We served two tours of duty in the Middle East in 2001/2002. I'm very sad about what's happened there. They are all good people in their own way," Powell said.
"The world doesn't need this."
Powell was concerned if this continued it could spark similar invasions involving China and Taiwan or North Korea and Japan. A swift response, probably based in Poland, was needed, he said.
Tauranga MP, and opposition spokesman for finance and expenditure, Simon Bridges condemned Russia's attack, saying the situation was "scary".
"Probably, for a lot of Tauranga people, given it's so far away it may be hard to get a handle on but it absolutely matters to New Zealand - not just in terms of the uncertainty and risk it creates around the world but in our economy and what it's going to do to petrol prices.
"It's a real worry. My colleagues and I call on the Government to get some economic sanctions in place quick smart against Russia so we can join other countries in being on the right side."
Bridges said there was concern there could be a revitalisation of conflicts between other nations already in a volatile relationship.
"It's like a rock in a lake; it creates a lot of ripples. We don't exactly know how they will reverberate but we know that they will."
Tauranga list MP Jan Tinetti said she agreed with the sentiments of Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta when she said their thoughts were with the people in the Ukraine impacted by this conflict.
"We repeat our call for Russia to act consistently with its international obligations, cease military operations in Ukraine and return to diplomatic negotiations as a pathway to resolve this conflict."
Rotorua Multicultural Council president Margriet Theron said many Russian migrants living in Rotorua will be upset about this.
"We must not forget about them."
Valeria Liaskovskaia, who is from Moscow, said the situation was "pretty heartbreaking".
"No one wants this. It is not the Russians, it is the government. It is very sad for all of us."
The 35-year-old came to Rotorua four years ago but moved to Auckland in 2020.
"I am so happy to be here in New Zealand."
Liaskovskaia said she had at least 75 per cent Ukrainian blood and most of her relatives lived in Ukraine.
"I spent most of childhood in that town [Genichesk] which is being tanked and bombed."
She said her brother had been in touch with their relatives, who were on her father's side, and had been told they were not hurt.
"No one knows what is going to happen."
Additional reporting - Zoe Hunter and Sandra Conchie
The airport is built on land confiscated by the Crown in 1866.