Ukraine: Woman 'petrified' for family as Kherson seized

Dasha Smith has family members in the Ukrainian city of Kherson

A Ukrainian woman living in Cornwall has said she is "petrified" for her family as Russian forces seized control of her home city of Kherson.

It is the first major Ukrainian city to be taken since the start of the invasion.

Dasha Smith moved to Cornwall 17 years ago, and said "every hour is like a 24-hour day" as she fears for her family.

When she found out the city she grew up in had been taken, she said her "entire body went numb".

Kherson's mayor, Igor Kolykhaev, said Russian troops had forced their way into the city council building and imposed a curfew on residents.

LISTEN: Dasha Smith tells BBC Radio Cornwall about her fears for family members in Ukraine

Several cities have come under intense shelling, with Wednesday one of the most destructive days of the fighting so far.

'Shattering skies'

Ms Smith, who works for the BBC, is in regular contact with her grandmother, uncle and their families, including two young children who are in hiding in Kherson.

The family described hearing the "shattering of the skies" and the "rumbling of the ground".

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Ms Smith said: "I cannot describe the feeling that I get when I see videos of the streets I know so well being ripped apart because the tanks have been shredding through them.

Constitution Square in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city, was shelled by Russian forces on 2 March, 2022

"I cannot tell you the feeling that I get knowing that the school that I went to has now been shelled and bombed."

She said the feeling of finding out her family were in danger "was like a ghost had just walked through me. I couldn't feel my fingers".