Ukraine conflict: Colchester woman says she worries for family

Halyna Asik's mother and brother have stayed in Ukraine as Russian troops continue their invasion

A Ukrainian woman living in the UK says she is unable to sleep due to concerns about her family.

Halyna Asik lives in Colchester, Essex, with her two daughters but her mother and brother are still in Ukraine.

The 36-year-old said her mother was "very stressed" about the invasion while her brother was joining the army.

Ms Asik said she wanted to "go back home to help" but her mother told her she should stay in Essex with her children.

"If not for my children I would go back home to help everyone," she said.

"My mum gets very stressed every day but she's very brave and very strong.

"She tried to make sure I'm calm as well.

"She knows I'm a single mum and I have children and she understands they need their mummy."

'I don't want to lose them'

Ms Asik said her brother was in Hungary when the invasion first began but had since returned to Ukraine in order to join the army.

"He wanted to come back and fight," she said.

Ms Asik said she felt uneasy about her brother joining the army.

"We have a small family and I don't want to lose them," she said.

Ms Asik said her mother, who lives in Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, told her she would stay in the country despite the ongoing invasion as she didn't believe in everyone "running away".

"We believe in our army and our country," she said.

"Ukrainians are quite strong.

"They are very patriotic people."