A man whose godson is fighting in Mariupol says it will be difficult commemorating fallen Anzac heroes when there are living heroes still fighting in Ukraine.
Ukrainian port city Mariupol is under Russian control. Photo: AFP
Anton Stafurin said the Russian invasion of Ukraine had turned many lives upside down within New Zealand's Ukrainian community.
Tomorrow's commemorations of New Zealanders who served during World War I and in conflicts since then will strike a different note for him, and bring out a lot of mixed emotions, he said.
Hopes are fading for the remaining Ukrainian fighters in the area his godson is fighting in, which was incredibly difficult to see.
"We will talk a lot about the war that is going on now - I don't [even] know what to call this war - national liberation war."
But he said it will be difficult to commemorate the fallen heroes this Anzac Day, when there are living heroes still fighting in Ukraine.
"Things are quite different. It's hard not to think of how similar the situation is there to that of the second World War."
There is about 1300 people in New Zealand who were born in Ukraine, and a small community of expats that dates back to 1949, when about 170 arrived here after World War II, data on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's website showed.
Russia today renewed its assault on the last contingent of Ukrainian fighters in the city, who are hidden in the large Asovstal steel plant with civilians.
The defenders had not surrendered by a Russian deadline, and Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal said they would fight to the end.
Concerns are also growing for civilians living in the now badly damaged city, many of who have said they do not believe Russia will allow them a safe humanitarian corridor to escape. Moscow said earlier this week that it has now taken 140,000 Mariupol residents to Russia.
