A Ukrainian man living in Dublin has said his family are determined to stay in their home despite the Russian invasion.
And his dad is even ready to fight the Russians if they get near their city in central Ukraine.
Oleksii Rukhlenko is a research scientist in UCD and has been living in the Irish capital for the last five-and-a-half years.
The 35-year-old academic told Dublin Live he is more worried about the invasion that was launched by President Vladimir Putin this morning than his family who are determined to stay.
He said: "Of course this is a shock and you can't believe it really happened. But when the emotions come down and you start to perceive the reality and understand what is happening. My parents, my grandfather, my aunt, my cousin and sister are all in Ukraine so of course I am worried for them.
"To be honest they are much less worried than me - they are much more calm."
He added: "Probably because they are closer to the front line so they don't have the resource to worry because they have to think about much more practical things. Since I am far away, I worry more."
Oleksii is from a central city in Ukraine called Kryvyi Rih which has a population of around 700,000.
The city is about 200km from the front line but it has already sustained damage due to long range missiles.
Despite the terror of a war against a far greater Russian army, Oleksii's family have no plans to leave
He said: "They are not going to run away. They are staying there in Ukraine. I hope at least the occupation of big cities will not happen. They are not going to flee anywhere. We just hope that the Ukrainian army will hold."
And despite being older than 50, Oleksii's father is ready to join the Ukrainian army to fight the Russians if they get near his hometown.
He said: "My father is quite determined if the Russians get close he will take part in some military actions even though he is more than 50 years old. But they are not planning to flee unless the city is occupied completely."
Oleksii called on Ireland to implement financial sanctions on Russia to help his country and warned that the EU could be in danger if Ukraine succumbs to the Russian invasion.
He said: "Financial sanctions against Russia and financial supports for Ukraine.
"Believe it or not, Ukraine is a shield for EU because, if Ukraine fails, EU will have problems. Lithuania will have problems."
He added: "They are supporting us because they understand if Ukraine fails they will be next. This is not about Ukraine, this is about the EU in general."
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