It's been an emotional rollercoaster for Larysa Terry as she tries every day to track down loved ones either sheltering or fleeing Ukraine as her home town of Mariupol is obliterated.
It has been four weeks since the first Russian shells landed in Ukraine and families living in South East NSW have been helplessly watching the conflict unfold from afar.
Mariupol has seen the worst devastation of the war, enduring weeks of bombardment and, now, street-by-street fighting.
Ms Terry, who works as a chef in Eden, finds it difficult not to cry while explaining how hard it is to contact family and friends with communications disrupted across parts of the country.
"It's still broken contact on the mobile phone," Ms Terry said.
"Other family in Mariupol I cannot contact because it's very dangerous now.
The UN human rights agency says more than 1,000 people have been killed in Ukraine since the start of Russia's invasion, as the humanitarian crisis worsens.
'I cannot sleep'
Originally from the Mariupol region, Ms Terry moved to Australia in 2004 after marrying her husband, Malcolm.
The situation in Ukraine, especially in her home region of Mariupol, is rapidly changing, which makes it difficult for Ms Terry to keep tabs on her family and friends.
She has managed to maintain daily contact with her 34-year-old son, who was staying in a bomb shelter with his family in Kyiv last week.
He is unable to leave Ukraine due to the ban placed on 18 to 60 year-old men from leaving the country in order to stay and fight.
He has since evacuated to the Bukovina region, while his wife and son have made it across the border to Poland.
Some of her other relatives have also made it to Poland to seek refuge, but others are still untraceable.
"I cannot sleep and it's a big stress for me," she said.
"When I work, I forget about it … I work with my friends, Australian people, a very nice team of people.
Help on the way
As the humanitarian crisis continues in Ukraine, one South East local is taking matters into his own hands to help.
North Batemans Bay medic Chris Laursen has gathered a batch of first aid kits and delivered them in person to Poland.
"I've been watching, like everybody else, in horror at what's going on in Ukraine," he said.
Mr Laursen previously helped anti-poaching unit rangers in South Africa by providing medical equipment.
He has decided to repeat the same strategy, by creating medical kits using his own money and public donations.
He flew to Poland last week, with plans to pass the kits to an aid organisation that can truck the supplies into Ukraine and distribute them to civilians in cities like Lviv and Kyiv.
"I just see the photographs in the news of the people who are caught up in the crossfire," he said.
"I feel I need to help those if I can."
