The friendship of a Tasmanian and a Ukrainian man has led to donations of more than $130,000 being raised since April to help Ukrainians displaced by war.
The donations have primarily come from Tasmania’s Christian network and the national Australian Anglican Relief and Development Fund.
As the temperature in Europe plunges, residents from the war-torn country have received donations of fuel, blankets, heat pumps and warm clothing, as well as vans for situations where civilians need to be evacuated from danger zones.
And it's possible thanks to the generosity of Australians.
Hobart Baptist Church's Kelvin Smith met Kyiv-based pastor Anton Kslyuzhnyy a decade ago at a university conference in the US. They quickly became friends, contacting each other every six months to catch up.
"Then when the war started, it was heartbreaking, but I was touched by the way that Kelvin just called me and told me he really wanted to do everything that is possible to help," Mr Kslyuzhnyy said.
Since the war with Russia broke out, Mr Smith has mobilised 17 churches in Tasmania, as well as the Anglican Church of Australia, to raise the $130,000 through ‘Go Fund Me’ accounts and small community events for Ukranians in need.
He said it was easy to feel small when thinking about conflicts overseas.
"It’s amazing what something little can do," Mr Smith said.
"Initially it was just a phone call, and that was doing the world for him, to know that people cared and to know that people were with him during the conflict.
"The rest was just being a link, connecting people with people; people who want to give."
The World Health Organisation recently described the upcoming European winter as "life threatening" for Ukrainians.
Churches transformed into shelters
Mr Kslyuzhnyy is a pastor at the evangelical New Life Church in Kiev. At the church's summer camp, hundreds of displaced Ukranians seek refuge at any one time.
The camp has been transformed into a shelter run by volunteers.
Mr Kslyuzhnyy said the shelter distributes food for about 200 people a week, and the focus was on bringing people together in challenging times – times that have seen 30 people from his church drafted to fight in the war.
"We want to make our shelter for locals who can come, have hot soup [in a ] warm space, a community centre. Of course, we need more than we have, but we are very blessed to have what we have," he said.
"To see how in this darkest moment, that such many people, even Australians who are on the opposite side of the planet. They are with us, that is amazing. It means so much to us."
Fighting in Ukraine, now in its ninth month, is expected to slow during winter, but there is no evidence of resistance waning from Ukrainians.
"It’s terrible to see all this destruction, But on the other hand, we understand that there is no other way. We have to fight," Mr Kslyuzhnyy said.
Mr Smith said they would continue to raise funds as long as the war continued and the need remained.
"The friendship that’s between us, I’ve got to do what I can. I know he would do that if I was in that situation."
