The sound of a distant explosion woke Vladyslav Guz and his boyfriend, who were asleep in their apartment in Ukraine's capital.
The Russian military had invaded the country, and when the couple looked outside their window in Kyiv, they saw "people screaming and running away."
Mr Guz said he and his boyfriend, Oleksandr Soloviov, decided to flee the country to seek safety, but were then separated when one had their application to enter Australia approved, and the other was denied.
After being granted a visa to enter the country, Mr Guz, 25, travelled to Perth to stay with a friend.
Unfortunately, Mr Soloviov's visa application was denied three times.
Desperate to be re-united, Mr Guz wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles, and the Minister for Home Affairs Clare O'Neil begging them to help.
"I love my partner and I can't be divided with him, so I did my best to do everything to bring him here."
"I started to re-apply a second time and then a third time and then we even started the fourth time application and then the migration attorney called me [to say] 'Vlad, he has visa.'
"First of all, I (will) hug him, and then maybe we will go to Rottnest Island, and I show him Quokkas because I am totally obsessed with Quokkas."
Thousands of visas granted, but many unable to leave
The Department of Home Affairs has been progressing visa applications from Ukrainian nationals as a priority, particularly for those with a strong personal connection to Australia.
In a statement, the department said that since February this year, the government granted nearly 8,600 visas to Ukrainians.
Nearly 3,800 of these visa holders have arrived in the country.
But there are almost 5,000 Ukrainians that have been offered a visa but have not entered Australia to accept it.
Co-chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, Kateryna Argyrou, said this was due to several reasons, including the cost of flights and a wait on travel documents.
Martial law has also been declared in Ukraine, meaning men aged 18 to 60 cannot leave the country.
She added that Ukrainians being held in occupied territories are being subjected to strip searches and interrogation in "filtration camps".
"Probably the most heartbreaking reason, if people are being held in occupied territories, they are being subjected to filtration camps, there are forced mass deportations, people are being interrogated for days, tortured."
"I can go into many different reasons that they physically can't get out," Ms Argyrou said.
"Especially if they have family here [in Australia] that they would like to reunite with, they certainly can't do it within the next couple of days."
Ms Argyrou said she hoped to continue working with the Australian government to ensure Ukrainians could seek safety in the country.
"We hope that together we can continue an open dialogue and find a way forward."
In Perth, Vladyslav Guz said "many people in Ukraine are still unsafe."
"There are bombs threatening, Russian soldiers just kill people. They even kidnapped and tortured my family," he said.
"People should have an opportunity to stay in a safe place."
The Department of Home Affairs said Ukrainian nationals that have arrived in the country on a temporary visa will not be required to return to Ukraine under the current circumstances.
"Australia is committed to showing global leadership with regards to the size of our humanitarian intake as one of the world's most generous contributors to international refugee resettlement efforts," a departmental spokesperson said.
"The Government will work closely with the Ukrainian community to ensure permanent visa options are made available to this cohort at an appropriate time."
