Kateryna Argyrou is sitting in the lounge room of her Paddington terrace in Sydney, replaying messages from loved ones in the Ukrainian city of Lviv.
The sound of sirens wails from the mobile phone, as she translates a message delivered rapidly in Ukrainian.
“This is an airstrike warning,” Ms Argyrou, 35, says.
“We are all going to the bomb shelter. Now again, God save us, please!”
Kateryna Argyrou listening to messages from Ukraine Credit: SBS News/ Sandra Fulloon
“This is what I receive from my family on a daily basis," she says.
“My morning starts with checking in to see not only if they're okay, but if they're alive. It is very hard.”
Ms Argyrou is among almost 40,000 Ukrainians living in Australia, and is also co-chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations. The peak body is coordinating fundraising efforts across the country.
“The support from the Australian business community has been phenomenal,” she says.
“We have companies like Krispy Kreme selling donuts to raise money for Ukraine.
Australian corporate law firm Gilbert + Tobin has donated $100,000 to UNICEF, and has a matching donation program for employees
“We are also providing pro bono assistance to Australian-Ukrainian organisations to support humanitarian relief efforts,” COO Sam Nickless says.
Sam Nickless, Gilbert + Tobin COO Credit: Supplied Gilbert + Tobin
And the Lone Star restaurant chain is donating revenue to the Ukraine Crisis Appeal.
“A lot of our local community is of Ukrainian descent so we thought this was a great cause to get behind,” says Lone Star’s Marketing Manager Nathan Wood.
Kateryna Argyrou as a child with her mother Credit: Supplied Kateryna Argyrou
Her family still lives there and has survived generations of oppression from Russia.
“As Greek Catholics, my grandparents had a very difficult life,” she says.
“My grandmother was sent to a labour camp in Khazakstan for her religious beliefs, and she spent nine years there. My grandfather was there for three years, and that is where they met.
Kateryna (right) aged 12 in Ukraine with her grandfather and sister. Credit: Supplied Kateryna Argyrou
Ms Argyrou later moved to Canada with her mother and by the time they returned Ukraine had become an independent state, following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
“I remember going to the Independence Day parades and watching the tanks roll along. And feeling the immense pride that people had waving their Ukrainian flags," she says.
“Now tanks are being used in combat to protect the lives of millions of Ukrainians, with brave soldiers both men and women putting their lives at risk every day."
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine passes one month with the death toll climbing daily, pressure is also being exerted on global businesses operating in Russia.
An anti-war rally in Chatswood this week Credit: Supplied Kateryna Argyrou
“The Australian community is calling on Pepsi to stop doing business in Russia, while it continues aggression against Ukraine,” says Chris Holley, from Amnesty International Australia.
On 8 March PepsiCo announced that it would suspend production and sale of Pepsi-Cola and other global beverage brands in Russia.
Other rallies are planned worldwide, targeting companies that pay taxes in Russia, thereby helping to fund its war effort, Mr Holley says.
“All businesses have to make decisions about their position and their ethics so continuing to trade in a way that allows human rights abuses to continue, is not something that businesses should be doing," he says.
Vasyl Boroviak with his family in Sydney Credit: SBS News / Edgard Ferreira
Vasyl Boroviak is an IT expert with a master's degree in theoretical physics from Dnipro University in Ukraine. He is now chief technology officer at a funds transfer startup in Sydney.
Mr Boroviak also owns a chain of Australian-themed coffee shops in Ukraine's Dnipro and Kherson, and says staff at several of his cafes are feeding the Ukrainian army.
The 40-year-old knows of online groups monitoring social media, tracking Russian-backed propaganda. The findings are reported back to the Australian Federal Police, he says.
“They are collecting pro-war information, naming those who support the Russian invasion, and even those funding it," Mr Boroviak says.
“Some join the , a Telegram group with around 300,000 members. One of their hackers found a database of the entire Russian army, all those invading Ukraine right now.
“They are shutting down systems in Russia. They are posting images of destroyed buildings in Ukraine into online maps, so that when a Russian citizen opens the map the images appear.”
Kateryna Argyrou at home in Sydney Credit: SBS News / Sandra Fulloon
“The support that's been provided by the Australian government is phenomenal,” she says.
Australia has also provided $91 million in military assistance for Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“Military aid, humanitarian aid, medical aid, all are very welcome announcements," she says.
“We also call on the Australian government to support a no-fly zone over Ukraine. And to help ensure the green corridors are safe for civilians to flee,” she says.
Lone Star is among Australian businesses supporting Ukraine Credit: Supplied Lone Star Rib House & Brews
“My grandparents are 85 and 84, and they live in a high-rise apartment building. The power is cut off, there is a water shortage," she says.
“They are elderly and cannot go into the street to get medicine. Also, the temperatures are below zero in Ukraine, so it's very cold.
“I've offered to help get visas, to get them across the border, to find flights and get them all over here.
“They all said: 'Thank you very much, but someone needs to stay and fight'."
And this attitude, she says, is why the country will triumph.
“Ukrainian people are fearless. They are very optimistic. And every day they say: ‘we will win this war because Russians are just mercenaries shooting at someone because they're told to'," she says.
“But Ukrainians are standing behind a purpose.
“My family fought so hard for Ukraine, so hard for their freedom.
“So I feel that being involved in the Ukrainian community here and doing something for Ukraine is helping their legacy live on.”
