After finding safety near Norwich after Russia's invasion of her homeland, a Ukrainian woman has been left horrified by the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam.

Yuliia Popovych is living in Mulbarton after arriving in Norfolk from Chernihiv, a city to the north of the capital Kyiv, in June 2022.

The 25-year-old is among the tens of thousands of Ukrainians that have arrived in the UK after the outbreak of war in eastern Europe in February last year.

Latest figures show that 52 people have been killed directly after the dam collapsed earlier this month amid Russia's attempts to take control of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.

READ MORE: UEA student's dream to return to Ukraine after gaining sanctuary in the city

Reuters report that a further 16,000 have been ‘critically flooded’ and that 40,000 people have been indirectly impacted.

Yuliia herself has two friends who had moved from the area prior to the disaster - just a matter of days before.

While the facts continue to be established, Yuliia, who juggles two jobs working as both a hairdresser and a barmaid, wanted to do something to show her solidarity.

“I started to feel I was in a safe place. I started to feel like I had run away. I felt that I should do something," she explained.

That took her to Beccles, where she braved a 14,000ft jump with a parachute strapped to her back.

She added: “I was scared but we should be brave, always.”

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Norwich Evening News: Yuliia Popovych jumped out of a plane near Beccles to raise funds for victims of the Nova Kahkovka dam in her home country of Ukraine Yuliia Popovych jumped out of a plane near Beccles to raise funds for victims of the Nova Kahkovka dam in her home country of Ukraine (Image: Yuliia Popovych)

The daring jump has seen Yuliia raise £420 of her £500 target on her JustGiving page for the Nova Kahovka for Life charity, which is assisting in the evacuation of people and animals from the flooded region.

Yuliia lives with the Sydney family in Mulbarton and is so thankful for their support.

She concluded: “I would like to express my deep gratitude to the family for their kindness and support.

"They have become a second family to me.”