Strictly Come Dancing star Nadiya Bychkova says she is desperately trying to get her grandmother out of Ukraine.
The professional dancer, 33, admitted she still had a hard time believing that war had arrived in her home country of Ukraine.
Despite now living in the UK, she is from the Ukrainian city of Luhansk and said her family has been battling conflict since 2014, with many forced to flee.
She told GB News: ‘It’s very difficult. In the part of Ukraine where she is, the war started way back in 2014.
“So in the worst possible way, we kind of got used to it. What is difficult is being gone now because you used to be able to get on a plane and two hours later you are there.
Tough Time: Strictly Come Dancing Star Nadiya Bychkova Says She’s Desperately Trying To Get Her Grandma Out Of Ukraine
Difficult: Nadiya’s mother (pictured) recently traveled back to Ukraine, with the star explaining it took her three days to travel
“Now it takes three days to get there and you never know what might happen along the way.
“My mother travels more often to see my grandmother and check that she is okay. But it’s just really hard.
She continued, “I still can’t believe all this is happening. And it just doesn’t stop. I guess I couldn’t believe it at first and I thought and hoped it might take a week or two, but here we are over a year on and it’s still going on.
“I’m trying to get my grandma here, but it’s hard because she’s older and she’s like, ‘Well, that’s my home, I don’t want to leave.’
“But at the same time, I’m so worried when something happens. There’s not much I can do right away, it’ll take me three days to get there.’
Earlier this year, Nadiya spoke out about the problems of having family still living in Ukraine.
She admitted that she constantly worries if her rural house is okay, as she remembered years ago that she “had a bomb in our living room.”
Nadiya admitted that it is currently a difficult time for herself and the world as she noted how the conflict had become a global issue.
To talk with The sunshe said that her grandmother still lives in Ukraine and that the house still has no heating or electricity, except for “an hour once or twice a day.”
Noting her concern, the dancer continued, “Since 2014 I’ve been watching on YouTube, ‘Is our house OK?’ We had a bomb right in the living room.
“My grandmother’s house had to be redecorated, and now all the bombing has started all over again.”
The Russo-Ukrainian war has been raging since February 2014 between Russia and Ukraine.
Nadiya went on to say that she has relatives who were ‘almost killed’ when they ran away from the conflict but are now safe.
Her mother, Larisa, returned to Ukraine late last year to visit her grandmother, with the star revealing it took three days to get there.
“These are scary times, and obviously it’s tough, but it really helps that the world now knows it’s helping so many people,” she concluded.
More happily, Nadiya also discussed life with her friend Kai Widdrington, whom she met on Strictly.
The pair recently spent their first Christmas together and with the dancer’s six-year-old daughter, Mila.
Loved up: Happier Nadiya also discussed life with her boyfriend Kai Widdrington, who she met on Strictly
Family: And recently appearing on Loose Women, she explained that Kai really got the seal of approval from her daughter Mila, 6, – who ‘adores’ him
And recently appearing on Loose Women, she explained that Kai very well got the seal of approval from Mila – who “worships” him.
Nadiya told the panel, ‘It took a while because it wasn’t easy, you protect your child as best you can, but he’s brilliant’.
“It took a while, but he’s proven himself in every possible way and Mila absolutely loves him!”
The dancer shares daughter Mila with her ex-fiancée, Slovenian footballer Matija Škarabot, from whom she divorced in early 2021.