{"id":64846,"date":"2022-03-18T15:34:45","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T15:34:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?p=64846"},"modified":"2022-03-18T15:34:46","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T15:34:46","slug":"when-the-invasion-began-i-just-felt-sick-meet-the-pharmacist-running-for-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2022\/03\/18\/when-the-invasion-began-i-just-felt-sick-meet-the-pharmacist-running-for-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"‘When the invasion began I just felt sick’: Meet the pharmacist running for Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The former Cardiff University student will be running the Cardiff half-marathon <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A Ukrainian runner has raised over \u00a31,500 to buy desperately-needed medical supplies for her war-torn homeland.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pharmacist Sofiya Abramchuk, 35, is running the Cardiff half-marathon on March 27 to raise money to send medical supplies to Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe all feel heartbroken by what is happening,\u201d said Sofiya, who lives in Llanelli. \u201cBut at the same time we are very proud of how much they are resisting and fighting for their freedom.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sofiya moved to the UK from Ukraine in 2003 to pursue higher education. Although her Mum, Dad and sister all moved to the UK in 2018, many of her family and friends are still living in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey live in the west of Ukraine, in the area around Ternopil, so are in relative safety,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut that doesn\u2019t make me feel any better, because at the moment I feel as though my family is the 47 million people still out there.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Sofiya, a former student at Cardiff\u2019s School of Pharmacy, the last few weeks have been filled with pain and worry as she has watched her country become embroiled in horrific scenes of violence and destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I woke up on the 24th<\/sup> February (the day the Russian invasion began), I just felt sick,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been so emotionally difficult. The frustration of wanting to do more for them and stop this horror, it\u2019s probably the hardest thing to deal with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou feel guilty that you are safe, and you feel that you should be there, helping them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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