Sunderland man whose family hail from Ukraine fears for his relatives after they experience Russian missile strikes

Simon Cyhanko made an emotional plea for help after the Russian invasion of his homeland.

Following a pre-dawn address from President Putin, Russian forces launched a major assault on Ukraine, firing missiles on cities and military targets.

Russia had amassed nearly 200,000 troops, tanks, artillery and missiles near Ukraine's frontiers and in the early hours the invasion began to unfold.

Russian tanks were seen on the outskirts of Kharkiv, a city of 1.4 million people, with Russian forces also reportedly landing by sea at Ukraine's major port cities of Odesa and Mariupol.

Simon, 42, who has lived in Sunderland for 17 years, said: “When I awoke this morning to see what was happening I was just filled with shock and upset.

"I’ve been speaking to my cousins who live in Ukraine and up until now there has been a real sense of calm. We thought there would be some sort of compromise or Putin would be deterred by the potential repercussions – we didn’t think it would come to this.

"The thing Ukrainians are most frightened of is being left alone without support from the West. We pray for their support, as without it, hundreds-of-thousands of Ukrainians will be killed or displaced.”

Although born in the UK, Simon’s family and heritage is from the Ukraine and he regularly travels back to the country to meet with his cousins Ira, who lives in Lviv, and Sergey, who lives in Mikolaiv – both of whom have already experienced the invasion firsthand.

He said: “I’ve spoken with Ira today. They were awoken during the night by the sound of shelling which has destroyed the local airport. This morning she and her husband left the city and have moved to a family home in the countryside where they hope they’ll be safer.

"Sergey was woken by an explosion and went out to move his car. As he was in his car he saw a missile go overhead which hit and caused an explosion at the airfield.

"This is very real. I’m extremely worried about my family and the whole a country – the place of my roots. Ukraine is an independent free country which has been invaded just because Putin wants to reclaim it as Russian territory.”

SEE ALSO: 'It is just wrong' - Sunderland residents share their thoughts on Russian's invasion of Ukraine

Simon, who lives in Roker, is fearful members of his family may eventually be conscripted to the front-line.

He said: “The Government have asked anyone old enough to be armed and there’s a real risk anyone could be called up.”

The decision to invade is in part believed to be down to the Ukraine’s desire to become part of NATO – something which Putin fiercely opposed and had demanded the West blocked.

While the UK and other Western nations have imposed political and economic sanctions, Simon fears this will not be enough.

Simon added: “Ukraine will resist and make it bloody and painful. I’m pleading for the West to also provide the military support to stand-up to Russia. The Western World cannot allow a free independent country to be occupied in this way”.

Ukrainians living in the UK have set-up a GoFundMe page to raise money to provide humanitarian aid for people in their homeland.

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