After several unsuccessful attempts, Igor Likhosherstov finally gets in touch with his brother, Alexander, in war-torn Kharkiv – Ukraine’s second-largest city in the north-east of the country - where Ukrainian forces have repelled relentless Russian bombardment for the past three weeks.
Alexander has been conscripted in Ukraine's army as a reservist, as have all men in the country between the ages 18 and 60. He says so far Ukraine's troops have kept Russian soldiers out, but the impact from the aerial strikes has everyone on edge.
"In Kharkiv at the moment, as of yesterday, 600 buildings were either on fire or were damaged, more than 600 buildings were hit,” Alexander tells Igor via video call, with the sound of shelling in the background.
“Tanks can’t enter into Kharkiv, thanks to the fantastic actions of the (Ukrainian) military. Everyone already understood that it would be difficult to enter Kharkiv.”
What they do want, Alexander goes on to explain to his brother, is help with ‘closing the sky’, stopping Russian cruise missiles and unguided rockets from targeting the city.
From his home in Sydney Igor talks to his brother Alexander who remains in Kharkiv. Source: SBS News
"Yeah, it has been difficult emotionally for sure. I always thought that I'm a strong guy, but I can't sleep. I just sleep maybe three or four hours," Igor says.
But, he says, the spirit in Ukraine is incredible.
“I don’t think I’ve seen it in my life like that, when all the people, ever since the Orange Revolution they were in heightened mode, but now when they get attacked, all the squabbles between political parties are put aside," he says.
It doesn’t matter if you’re Ukrainian, Russian, Jewish or Tatar – they’re all as one.”
Igor’s wife, Eva Brylynska, is trying but failing to convince her mother and father to leave Kharkiv. It’s the most difficult time in her life, she says, so she tries to stay in touch with them at least once a day.
Igor and his wife, Eva. Source: SBS News / Supplied
"And right now my mum is not calling. So, I am just thinking .. 'maybe she will call a little bit later'. But it's difficult.”
Restrictions of tourist visa subclass 600
A survivor of World War Two, Igor’s 82-year-old mother, Valentyna Likhosherstov, found herself once again fleeing war.
She arrived in Australia just two days ago, leaving everything behind.
It was a long journey only made possible with the help of friends and acquaintances in Poland - and the Australian government. After a tense week of ensuring his mum's safe passage to Australia, Igor is relieved she is here - but now wants to help her to recover and is concerned about the conditions related to her tourist visa, sub-class 600.
Valentyna Likhosherstov arrived in Australia from Ukraine to be with her son, Igor, in Sydney. Source: SBS News / Supplied
"We bought medical insurance, of course. But medical insurance covers very little. If something happens and we need to go to ED (emergency department) or even see GP, the bill can go into thousands very quickly, very easily. So that would be really good to have Medicare - or similar scheme for Ukrainian displaced people."
Community support for displaced Ukrainians
With government support so far unavailable to those on a tourist visa, community groups are joining together to fill that gap.
Melbourne-based Inna Mitelman, who runs a Facebook group, Help for Displaced Ukrainians Australia, says she didn’t anticipate the scale of how much help is needed – but also how much help is being offered.
"All of these people are joining the group saying how can we help, what can we do," Inna says.
Inna Mitelman runs a Facebook group to coordinate help for displaced Ukrainians. Source: SBS News
But what’s clear, she says, is that the restrictions attached to the visitor visa are causing a lot of stress on families hosting up to a dozen new arrivals. Medicare, working rights and issues of schooling for their children are high among their concerns.
For newly-arrived Inna Popova, quarantining in a Sydney hotel with her 13-year-old son, the Facebook group has been invaluable. A teacher back in Ukraine, she just wants the chance to work.
"We need to work. We need to make money. And we need to be independent,” she says.
I think we need to contribute to the Australian economy. We need to do something. We can't stay on a tourist visa.Inna Popov
Especially as she now has a bill to pay for her hotel stay plus the fact her son has a medical condition which needs treatment.
"We can buy it ourselves right now. We have a little amount of money. But what will be tomorrow?” she asks.
"How will we live tomorrow? Of course, my friends try to support - financially too. It can be a for a long time you see. That is why tourist visa is difficult for us."
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre director Jana Favero says the government should move quickly to set up a hotline with translators to provide simple information on settlement needs.
"We've had phone calls of people saying: what do we about our visa? What so we do about our family? What do we about accessing education? And what do we do about accessing medicine?"
The federal government has indicated it is considering introducing a temporary safe haven program, similar to that offered to refugees from Kosovo in 1999. It would offer some access to work and healthcare.
New Zealand is allowing Ukrainian-born New Zealand citizens and residents to bring members of their Ukrainian family into the country. Successful applicants will be granted a two-year work visa with work rights, with children also being allowed to attend school.
The peak body for Ukrainians in Australia, the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, has created a to collect requests/offers of accommodation, aid, and volunteers
