Heavyweight boxers, footballers, Olympic athletes and models are among some of the well known faces who have vowed to fight on the front line for Ukraine as it battles against a Russian invasion.
More than 1,000,000 civilians have now fled Ukraine according to the UN - more than 450,000 of them have crossed the Poland-Ukraine border.
But many more are staying put, making petrol bombs with glass bottles and chemicals, and barricading bomb shelters with metal sheets in scenes not witnessed in Europe since the Second World War.
Read more: Woman who left Wales weeks ago now making petrol bombs in Ukraine to fight approaching Russian tanks
Russia's President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, with missile strikes on major cities and military convoys crossing the border.
Putin cast aside international condemnation and sanctions and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen”.
In a televised address, Putin claimed that Moscow's response would be "instant" if anyone tried to take on Russia. Ukraine's foreign minister has accused Russia of starting a full-scale war and called on the UK to do "everything possible" to stop it.
Over a week since Russian troops entered Ukraine, thousands are continuing to fight hard for their homeland - including some well known faces.
The Klitschko brothers
Boxing legends Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko have said they are "ready to die" for Ukraine as the conflict continues.
The brothers have doubled down on their pledges to defend their country from foreign invaders, and have promised to keep Ukraine free or die trying, reports The Mirror.
The two former boxing world champions are currently in Kyiv, where they have taken up arms against the Russian and Belarusian forces which began their assault on the country last Thursday.
Vitali Klitschko feels a special need to lead by example as the mayor of his city.
"I am very proud to see how patriotic people are," he told CNN . "We're not interested in how strong the Russian army is, we're ready to fight.
"And we're ready to die for our home country and for our families, because it's our home. It's our future and somebody wants to come to our home and steal our future from us."
He went on to say he believes that he and his fellow fighters can hold off Vladimir Putin's invaders for "such a long time" if they can stay alive.
Oleksandr Usyk
Current world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has flown back to his homeland, and says his "country and honour" are more important than any fight in the ring as he prepares to defend Ukraine's capital Kyiv against invading Russian forces.
The 35-year-old, who beat Britain's Anthony Joshua in September to become the unified heavyweight champion, has enlisted in Ukraine's military.
"There is no fear, absolutely no fear," he told CNN. "There's just bafflement - how could this be in the 21st century?"
Usyk, who was speaking via video call and an interpreter from a basement in Kyiv, said he did not know if there was any chance of him fulfilling a planned May rematch with Joshua.
"I really don't know when I'm going to be stepping back in the ring," he said.
"My country and my honour are more important to me than a championship belt."
Usyk joined the Kyiv Territorial Defence force and has pledged to kill Russian invaders if necessary.
"If they will want to take my life, or the lives of my close ones, I will have to do it," he said when asked if he would be willing to take someone's life.
"But I don't want that. I don't want to shoot, I don't want to kill anybody, but if they will be killing me, I will have no choice. Maybe, it'll sound sentimental but my soul belongs to the Lord and my body and my honour belong to my country, to my family.
"So there is no fear, absolutely no fear. There's just bafflement. How could this be in the 21st century?"
Sergiy Stakhovsky
Sergiy Stakhovsky, the former world No 31 in men’s tennis who retired after the Australian Open in January, has signed up too.
“I pretty much hope that I won’t have to use the gun,” the 36-year-old told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
His wife and children remain in the family home. “I’m still not sure how I’ve done it,” he added. “I know that it’s extremely hard on my wife.
My kids don’t know that I’m here. They don’t understand war. They’re too little to understand what’s going on.”
Good Morning Britain hosts Susanna Reid and Rob Rinder spoke to Sergiy live from Ukraine on Wednesday's show and asked him why he had decided to go back.
"I don't know, it's hard to describe and it's hard to judge, I don't think that there's a right or wrong for me," he replied.
He then quickly added: "Sorry guys I'm not sure how long I'll be able to stay because we have an air raid coming in..."
Susanna and Rob then asked Sergiy what it was like being in Kyiv at the moment, to which he responded: "It's all quiet.
"There's no Russian troops inside the city lines, they've been all hunted or kicked out. There are a few directions that are not travelled right now, but in general Kyiv is pretty safe."
Oleg Luzhny
Former Arsenal player Oleg Luzhny has joined the fight against Russia, insisting he is determined to defend his homeland of Ukraine, putting his coaching career on hold to "fight for my people".
The 53-year-old said protecting his country mattered above all else.
"The situation is horrific. I want to come to coach in the UK but before anything I will stand firmly and fight for my people, for my country and for democracy," Luzhny told Sky Sports.
"We all hope this will be over soon as innocent lives are being lost and families are being torn apart. A country being invaded and destroyed is all for what? We need to stand together as one and bring to an end this criminal warfare."
Zhan Beleniuk
Zhan Beleniuk, who won gold in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Tokyo Olympics while serving as the first black member of Ukraine’s parliament, posted a picture of himself with a gun and bullets on Instagram with the caption: “If you want peace — prepare for war! Keep the powder dry ... and the main thing is a hot heart, and a cold mind!”
He later posted the words: “No more Russia in international sport” with the caption: “F*** you scumbags. Let them compete among themselves! Anyone who supports the Kremlin policy has no place in the civilised world!”
Andriy Voronin
Former Liverpool forward Andriy Voronin says he's willing to take up arms and fight with the Ukrainian armed forces against "son of a b****" Vladimir Putin's ongoing invasion of the country.
Voronin, a 75 times capped Ukraine international, has been forced to leave his job as assistant manager of Dynamo Moscow as Russian forces continue to advance on Kyiv and surrounding areas of the country.
Having fled Russia, Voronin and his family are now safe in Germany, with the 42-year-old telling German publication Bild that: "I could no longer work in the country that is bombing my homeland."
When asked by Bild what Germany can do to help Ukraine, he added: "Stop that son of a b**** Putin, help the refugees. And send weapons so we can defend ourselves.
"I'm so proud of our country. We have beautiful cities, great people.
"We will keep fighting. And we will win. But the price is so high. All the dead... We live in the year 2022, and not in World War II."
Anastasia Lenna
Anastasia Lenna, former Miss Ukraine, has pledged to shoot Russian invaders crossing her country's border.
Anastasia, who won the crown at the Miss Grand International Beauty contest in 2015, issued the chilling threat on her Instagram.
She wrote: "Everyone who crosses the Ukrainian border with the intent to invade will be killed!"
Her warning was accompanied with a photo of her comrades blocking a road in the under-siege eastern European nation.
In another post, she praised the Ukrainian army, claiming they are fighting so well that "Nato should apply for entry into Ukraine ".
In one photo, soldiers walk beside President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with Anastasia calling him a "true and strong leader" in her caption.
Vitaly Sapylo and Dmytro Martynenko
Two Ukrainian footballers have been killed since Russia began its invasion.
An official at the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU) confirmed to The Times that 21-year-old Vitaly Sapylo, who played for the youth team at Ukrainian Premier League side Karpaty Lviv, died defending Kyiv on Friday night after joining the Ukrainian army as a tank commander.
Dmytro Martynenko, an amateur player at FC Hostomel in Kyiv’s regional league, was killed when a shell struck his mother’s house near the Hostomel cargo airport. The area had been the site of fierce fighting on Thursday and Friday as Russian forces attempted to capture the strategically important Antonov Airport.
“Russian aggression takes the lives of peaceful Ukrainians every day,” the FFU official said. “They wanted to live and should not have died.”
The Ukrainian Premier League was in the final week of its winter break when the Russian invasion began, and all professional football in the country has since been indefinitely suspended.
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