A Ukrainian woman living in Belfast is working alongside a local gaming group to collect donations to help those in the war-torn country.
Anna Bilan is originally from Smila in the Cherkasy region of Ukraine, but has been living in Belfast for the past six years, and in the UK for the past 12 years.
However, her family remain in her home country, with her parents refusing to leave their house in the Chernihiv region as violence continues.
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For Anna, being able to collect and sort through donations alongside gaming group Battle Inc in North Belfast has kept her hands busy and her mind occupied from the devastating news filtering through from Ukraine. The group are hoping to collect even more donations in Belfast to do what they can to help.
"On Thursday and Friday when it started, I was at home feeling more and more ill from looking at the news," Anna told Belfast Live.
"I felt so hopeless and so useless at the same time. Doing the humanitarian aid here has been the only time I've stopped thinking about the news. Doing something with my hands, this is the only way I don't have to look on my phone at the news, I don't have that impulse, which means I don't have a migraine for some time while I'm doing this.
"Viv kindly offered this location to collect and sort donations, and from there we started looking at other organisations doing the same thing to see how we can help contribute towards them. And at the same time, looking at how we can sort our own line to send donations ourselves."
As she continues sorting through donations at North City Business Centre, Anna is constantly hearing news from her family and friends in Ukraine, saying that she usually gets a notification every 30 seconds.
She added: "Today is a very hard day as I realised there's no way we can get my parents out of the country. I wish we could make my family safe in some way, but they're very stubborn and patriotic, so they're not leaving their home.
"Even if routes are offered, they're not going out of Ukraine. They have no electricity right now, they're rationing their battery usage on their phones so they only come out every few hours to send a text that they're alright.
"My brother is in Kyiv city centre trying to evacuate my grandad and my aunt. It's a horrible time for him, as he's hearing bombs and can't sleep because explosions are happening right by his window every now and then. He tried to volunteer but they're only looking for people with military experience right now. So he feels as useless as all of us, just sitting in that apartment not being able to do anything."
During this difficult time, Anna said the Ukrainian diaspora in Belfast are doing all they can to help family and friends at home.
"None of us can sit still," she continued.
"There's a great deal of survivor's guilt among the Ukrainians still there, and I would say for all of the Ukrainian diaspora here. We feel horrible that we are safe, we feel horrible that we can't help, that we can't contribute. This is the only thing we can do. I wish I could do something, I wish I could be a nurse there or even wash the floors somewhere it's needed there - but I can't.
"I feel sorry for everyone who's dying in this war, regardless of their nationality. I feel sorry they're away from their homes doing something they don't want to be doing. They're just young men dying away from their homes, and for whatever reason it is, it's not right."
Anna and the team at Battle Inc have said the main items that are lacking in donations include first aid products such as plasters and paracetamol, as well as hygiene products such as baby wipes, towels, and sanitary products.
They are urging members of the public to stick to Red Cross recommendations, which is "to put some thought into what you're buying."
Anna added: "It's not something that would come to your head right away, but buy some dried milk, you can make gallons of milk from one packet. Buy stock cubes, they can last for meals for weeks.
"The more peanut butter we can get the better, as one spoonful can provide enough calories for half a day. It's one of the best things that can be donated when it comes to food."
As well as this, they're dedicated to putting some games and educational items in their donation packs as well, to help children caught up in the crossfire to keep their minds occupied.
Rory said: "Kids are being caught up in the middle of this. They haven't been to school for weeks now, as they've been closed. So anything we can donate whether it's clothing, food products, or educational stuff from ourselves - we will do it."
They're also hoping to work with other organisations across the city, with Viv adding "if we work together we'll be stronger."
Battle Inc are based at Unit 22, North City Business Centre, 2 Duncairn Gardens, BT15 2GG.
Their opening hours for the rest of this week are: Thursday 5pm - 10pm and Friday 5pm - 10pm, Saturday 12pm - 10pm and Sunday 12pm - 5pm.
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