While it may seem a world away for many, the increasing tensions and hostility between Russia and Ukraine is striking at the hearts of several Bega Valley residents.
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Motria Zenoninva Tymkiw von Schreiber is the daughter of Ukrainian refugees who escaped to the US.
She has returned to her homeland on several occasions and once worked as a tour guide while the country was under Russian rule.
"The Ukrainian language was forbidden, any spiritual or cultural celebration was sanctioned. There was an incredible sense of paranoia. As a tour guide I was stalked by the KGB," Motria said.
"Generation after generation were living in fear - and then came a period of relief and being able to breathe again [following independence in 1991]."
Motria said the situation in the region now was "horrific" and even here in Australia she knew the Ukrainian community was fearful and stressed about what could eventuate.
"I feel grateful to live here, grateful to be able to float in the water at Bermagui and breathe freely.
"But it's horrific and has escalated so fast. It feels as if all the factions there are just waiting for a trigger point.
"It's so upsetting to hear the fear in my family and not be able to do anything about it from here, other than to talk about Ukraine so the world knows what is happening. This is a global concern.
"There are quite a few Ukrainians in the Valley. We've been finding each other. Everyone is afraid [of what is happening there]."
Motria said now, more than ever, there was so much at stake for Ukraine. She said the country was very wealthy in resources, including nuclear energy, and economically it was "a very messy, entangled situation".
"The Russian empire has been growing and to allow Ukraine its continued independence means a loss of a lot of wealth," she said.
"There's a lot of history of Russia squeezing out the culture of the country, of systematically wiping out ethnic groups.
"I saw it as Soviet Ukraine and was terrified. When I returned to Kennedy Airport I literally kissed the ground.
"But then they were finally able to celebrate, to sing their own national anthem.
"There's a misconception that it's a 'Little Russia'. The Ukrainian identity has been very hard to hold on to...but it's so rich in folklore and knowledge.
"I went back after independence and there was incredible joy.
"I really hope there's still some economic and diplomatic levers to pull to slow this down and next week we can look back and say 'wasn't that intense?'."
Another Bega Valley local with Ukrainian heritage, Tabitha Bilaniwskyj-Zarins, shared her thoughts recently with ABC's Radio's The World Today program.
Tabitha has spent time in Ukraine teaching English to children and reconnected with long-lost family members there during a visit in 2017 for the Eurovision Song Contest.
"It deeply affects me and it deeply worries me, as I know it does many people connected to Ukraine in my small rural community here," she told the ABC.
"Everyone is asking 'how is your family?' 'How are the children?' And I feel helpless.
"How do all these western governments and other countries around the world accept bullying behaviour? This is the 21st Century and we are still living in wartime."