Ukrainian refugees in Cardiff say they are anxiously checking their loved ones are safe every day amid a flurry of Russian attacks in recent days. In the early hours of Monday the Kremlin launched its biggest drone attack on Ukraine for months, shelling its capital Kyiv, port city Odessa, and other cities, reports Reuters.
The drone swarm, comprising 60 Iranian-made kamikaze drones, came after Russia renewed its air campaign in late April following a lull in early March. Some 36 of these missiles targeted Kyiv alone and though all were shot down debris hit buildings and left at least five people injured. Three people were injured after a food warehouse in Odessa was struck and caught fire.
On Tuesday Russia launched another volley of cruise missiles at the capital overnight, reports Reuters. It was the fifth attack in May alone and came on Russia's Victory Day, which marks its defeat of Nazi Germany in World War Two. Ukraine's air defences shot down 23 of the 25 missiles and no casualties were reported.
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On Thursday Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said he needed "a bit more time" before launching a counter-offensive as the Ukrainian army waits for promised aid, including armoured vehicles, reports the BBC. Larysa Martseva, who fled Kyiv and came to Wales in April last year, said the volley of Russian attacks was "difficult for all of us".
On Tuesday the 54-year-old, who lives in Cardiff, said: "Especially because we are so far away from our families and friends who are left in Ukraine. This morning started with big fear and tears for my family and me. I try to support and to help Ukraine as much as I can but each second of my life here I feel guilty because I'm safe."
She worked as a TV producer and scriptwriter in Kyiv where she had lived since 1996. She fled with her two children and two dogs, first living in Creigiau, before they moved to the capital. But her lifelong friends and her ex-husband's family are still in Kyiv.
"I was scrolling through their Facebook this morning (Tuesday) trembling to find news about some awful thing that could have happened to them. Happily not one of them not this night or the previous night – which was even more dangerous – suffered from the Russian attacks."
She added: "The situation is very bad because mostly attacks start at night-time...my friends and family members, as soon as they hear a siren, they immediately leave their houses because you never know what house could be the next target – it could be yours."
She said her family back home are woken by sirens in the capital two or three times every night and this has become "routine". "The most awful thing about this situation is it's not something extraordinary... It's so exhausting. People continue to work – they need to earn money to support their families and to pay bills.
"The godmother of my daughter sent me yesterday a video she filmed from the window of her house – it was awful because of the explosions and traces in the night sky nonstop for hours... She said it was the same the day before yesterday and they were expecting a huge attack the next night."
Anastasiia Kovtun, 22, fled Kyiv and came alone to Wales in October 2022. Most of her other loved ones are still in Ukraine including her parents, brother, grandparents, and boyfriend. She was accepted to start a PhD in mathematics at Cardiff University and her studies have been a welcome distraction from worrying about her family.
She heard the attack at on Monday when she was on a phone call with her boyfriend, who is a student in Kyiv, at around midnight – 2am in Ukraine. Upon the outbreak of the war Ukraine forbade its male citizens aged 18 to 60 from fleeing the country. "I was on the phone with him and I heard the sound of drones flying above his head. It was terrible. Fortunately everything is all right as far as possible but this is not easy," Anastasiia said.
She estimates the ordeal lasted for more than two hours. She and her boyfriend have become accustomed to the frequent attacks on the capital and the threat they pose to his safety. "I think people are mostly used to it. There are air [raid] sirens every day – I have an app on my phone which sends notifications about air attacks on Kyiv. They are really more frequent now. I think people in Ukraine are just exhausted."
But this time the probability one of the missiles would hit his building was "quite high" and he sought refuge in a safety place. "This time I was refusing to go to bed. I said: 'I will stay with you until the attack ends because I know that it is so close to you'... This time it was really scary."
Another Ukrainian refugee who lives in Cardiff, Anna – who did not want us to use her surname – said she checks in on the situation in Ukraine and her loved ones "every day." "My parents are still in Kharkiv... I can't do anything – all I can do is just check all the time and ask them if they're okay," said Anna, 37, who worked as a screenwriter in her homeland.
She's not worried if they are at home because their flat is close to a metro station which functions as a shelter at night. But if they're not at home or not near a shelter when an attack happens she fears for their safety. During the biggest volley of missiles on Monday her mother was at home but her father had been out working and was on his way back.
"Lots of people work till midnight, a lot of people work during the night, and if it's happening when they're not at home it's the biggest problem," she said. "So if you're passing by a metro station it's okay – there is a place for you to stay. But if you're in the middle of nowhere it's a huge problem because you will just have to lie on the ground and wait until it's over because you never know where the [missile] will be."
Luckily the drones didn't come close to her parents' home during the attack on Monday but one missile narrowly missed her grandmother's summer house, which was thankfully empty at the time. Her "biggest fear" however is that missiles will destroy her parents' house – just like they decimated Anna's own flat in a different neighbourhood in Kharkiv in March last year. She came to Wales with her son in June after finding a sponsor in Cardiff.
"It would be a huge problem if a missile destroys my parents' home because I have no idea where they will live. Because my flat in Kharkiv is already destroyed... Now there are no options for my parents," she said. "I'm also afraid because their flat is situated near the National [Guard] Military Academy. On the first day of the war there were two [missiles] within just 30m. So I know they want to hit it and their house is still in danger."
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