A Kiwi-Ukrainian has grave concerns for the welfare of his godson, who was captured by Russian forces after the fall of Mariupol.
The city saw brutal street fighting, with Ukrainian fighters hunkering down in the massive steelworks, repelling Russian advances for months.
And that was where Anton Stafurin’s grandson, Oleh Korotya, ended up fighting.
He was previously in an artillery unit stationed nearby.
"On 24 February they were attacked from all directions... we are pretty certain they received heavy losses," said Stafurin, who lives north of Auckland.
"They were forced back towards Mariupol."
They joined forces with units fighting in the city for the next two months.
"The whole city of Mariupol was completely surrounded and cut off from supplies."
The internet was still usable, and Korotya was able to send brief updates to his family.
"[One day] he called his father and said 'we do not know what's going to happen tomorrow, because today we're going to do a 'do or die' mission and in case it's my last call, I love you all."
He survived, but the next day he asked his father to go to church to light a candle for his friend who died in that battle.
Despite fierce resistance, the Ukrainians slowly retreated to the now famous Azovstal steelworks, which eventually fell in late May.
"They took their last stand in that plant [under] heavy bombardment," he said.
"When resistance was no longer possible the commanders from Ukraine told them to stop... and they ordered them to come out and surrender while they were negotiating a prisoner of war exchange deal."
That was the last time they heard from Korotya, with no news for several weeks.
But in early June, Korotya's photo began circulating online as part of Russian propaganda efforts. That was followed by a call from the Red Cross, who told Korotya's father in Ukraine that it had witnessed his son's surrender and was monitoring him.
The family have no idea where he is now and are deeply concerned for his welfare.
"We do hope that because their surrender was captured by international media that maybe at least they are not mistreated... but we don't know how long it's going to take," said Stafurin.
"We try to focus on the positives – at least he is alive - but the worse thing about it is not knowing anything."
Six months ago, and before the invasion, Stafurin told 1News he did not think Russia had "what it takes" to successfully invade Ukraine.
And despite everything, he believes that is still the case.
"I don't know why Russia decided to do what it's doing. There's no way that Russia can win this war. We fighting on our land and we will prevail," he said.
"The victory will be ours, the question is when and what's it going to cost us."
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