After Russian strikes on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, rescue workers free a family from under the rubble of their destroyed home. Video / AP
A heartbroken Ukrainian family living in Pāpāmoa is "grieving for their homeland" and fears for the safety of loved ones back home.
Hundreds of cities and towns across Ukraine lost power after Russia began a wide-ranging missile assault on October 10 in retaliation for a truck bomb explosion that damageda bridge linking Russia with the Crimean Peninsula.
Explosions were reported in Dnipro and Kremenchuck in central Ukraine, Lviv, Ternopil and Zhytomyr in western Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia in the south and Kharkiv in the east.
At least a dozen cities across Ukraine have been hit by Russian missiles since October 10, including in central Kyiv, killing 19 people.
A firefighter helps his colleague to escape from a crater as they extinguish smoke from a burning car after a Russian attack in Kyiv on Monday. Photo / AP
Russian president Vladimir Putin has described the bridge bombing as an act of "terrorism" and promised more misery, announcing the mobilisation of 300,000 Russian citizens on Wednesday.
Ukrainians Kateryna Batsula and her husband Kostiantyn, both aged 31, came to New Zealand in November 2018 seeking a better quality of life. Their New Zealand-born son Mark is 8 months old.
In March Kateryna's mother-in-law Svitlana fled Ukraine, and was reunited with the couple in May after being granted a two-year temporary entry visa by the New Zealand Government.
Pāpāmoa mother Kateryna Batsula, her New Zealand-born son Mark and her mother-in-law Svitlana Batsula have many relatives and friends back in Kremenchuk in central Ukraine. Photo / NZME
They have a large extended family in their hometown of Kremenchuck in central Ukraine.
This includes Kateryna's sister Olena, 28, her grandmother, cousins, Svitlana's husband Ivan, her brother Ihor and her Russian-born 78-year-old mother Liubov Sokurenko.
Before the invasion on February 24, just over 217,000 people lived in Kremenchuk.
Speaking to the Bay of Plenty Times, Kateryna Batsula said she managed to speak to her sister Olga and some friends on Monday, who told her they were okay.
"My friend told me she saw one of the missile[s] overhead from her window and reports of three people getting injured after being hit by falling pieces of the drone."
Kateryna said because of the power outages it was hard to get in contact with some relatives and friends, and information from Ukraine's state communication service about the strikes was being carefully managed to not create panic among residents.
"We are scared and very worried for all our relatives and friends and really hope they are all okay. We are all grieving for our homeland and what is happening in Ukraine is just terrible. It's shocking and unbelievable that Putin wants to do this when Ukraine has done nothing wrong."
Kateryna thanked New Zealanders for the support, "including those making donations and giving a lot of support to those coming to live here from Ukraine".
Mt Cats and Yaks owner Nevan Lancaster. Photo / NZME
Nevan Lancaster, the owner of Mt Cats and Yaks, said he had three friends in Ukraine, including a Russian-born one, who lived in Kyiv with his Ukrainian wife and three children.
"Understandable my friend feels betrayed by Putin's actions and they are scared of what Putin will do next."
Lancaster said he was still waiting to hear back from some friends in Ukraine after he sent messages following the recent air strikes.
"It is upsetting and very worrying, and just so terrible... Ukraine cannot give up and cede to Putin's threats - if they do what's to stop Russia or another foreign power trying to take over other independent countries?"
The New Zealand Government has imposed new sanctions and trade bans on Russia and Belarus in response to Putin's attempts to illegally annex more parts of Ukraine.
They include targeting 51 oligarchs and 24 Russian-backed office holders, and new bans on exports and imports of luxury goods such as NZ wine and seafood, Russian vodka and caviar, as well as oil, gas and related production equipment.
