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As the Russian forces in Ukraine mass for a final attack on the capital Kyiv, refugees are leaving the country in their droves.
But a steady trickle of volunteers – many of them Brits – are arriving in Ukraine to help the defenders against the Russian onslaught.
Joe Stirling, a former British Army squaddie from Edinburgh, is one of them.
Joe is taking two weeks’ holiday from his job as a support worker for adults with autism and learning disabilities to travel out to Ukraine, where he’ll be handed an AK47 and a set of basic body armour and sent to the front line.
Asked why he’s risking his life to defend a country he’s never even been to before, he says: “There’s a lot of people out there that need help the Ukraine military’s struggling – we’ve got the training, we’re young, we’re fit, we’re able – so why not?”
He told the Daily Star: "The Ukrainians just need to hang on. They need to just do what [Chechen fighters] did in Grozny – just keep filling body bags."
With his flight booked on Friday, Joe shrugged off the danger, joking that he’s “in denial”.
He doesn’t think he's going to die, saying “that’s something that happens to other people”.
Joe accepts that the fight is getting harder. The first wave of troops were inexperienced recruits but a new wave of reinforcements "know the script," he says and will be hard to beat.
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Joe is "seeing a lassie" at the moment but says she's OK with him travelling nearly 2,000 miles to a war zone.
His family, who are helping him find the money for travel and essential protective gear, have called him an “idiot,” but he’s certain he’s doing the right thing.
It’s “the adventure of a lifetime,” Joe says. “I don’t need to worry about council tax, I don’t need to worry about what time I’m going to work, the only thing that matters are the guys to the left and right of me.”
Joe can only get one week off work for now, but says he's already planning a second tour of duty after his holiday entitlement renews in April.
Stripper queues up for AK47 as Ukrainian civilians ready to resist Russian onslaught
He and three old mates from the same regiment don’t expect to be paid while they’re on the front line. They started a GoFundMe to finance their trip but it’s currently pending verification from the fundraising website.
In the meantime, Joe recommends anyone wanting to help takes a look at a Facebook page called UK aid for Ukraine.
He says "Its a great page to donate kit and equipment from Amazon wish-lists etc. That get convoyed to Ukraine and distributed to whoever needs it"
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Another Brit, 30-year-old Liam Hawkins from Dartford, Kent, is also on his way to Ukraine.
Liam says he’s planning to work in a humanitarian capacity because "it's the right thing to do".
Speaking to reporters outside the Ukrainian Embassy in London, Liam said: "I haven't slept since this invasion and I just can't stay at home with my babies and my missus and do nothing.
"Right is right and wrong is wrong, regardless of nationality or creed or whatever," Liam added.
"I've got a good life here in England, I've got a good job, I make plenty of money.
"Sit there and count your money when this is going on next door? Doesn't mean nothing, so I'm going to do the right thing.
"I know it's dangerous; people are trying to talk me out of it, but I believe I can make a difference."
How long people like Liam or Joe will be needed there is hard to guess.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab warns: “This war is not going to end quickly, we have to be honest about that.
"We can expect Putin to act more aggressively… but anyone who follows Putin’s orders need to know they will end up in a dock and spend the rest of their lives behind bars."
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- Russia Ukraine war
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