Viktoriia Ivanova’s heart bleeds when she watches on television and social media visuals of Russian soldiers killing women, children and elder citizens in Ukraine, her motherland.

“Sitting here I am helpless. I can’t do anything for them but our people are brave. They are fighting back,” said Ivanova who has been living in Bhubaneswar for the past one month with her fiance Anwesh Upadhyaya, a doctor and national-level chess player. Anwesh started playing competitive chess with The Telegraph Schools’ Chess Championship as a young boy in 2002.

Ivanova was working as logistics manager in an online company and left Kyiv just four days after the war broke out. The 25-year-old woman reached India on March 8 via Poland along with her fiance. “I have been here once before but this visit was forced by circumstances. It was not planned. I love this place and the people here. But right now I am under tremendous emotional stress,” said the Ukrainian while narrating her experience since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out.

She broke down several times while talking to this correspondent at Anwesh’s Bhubaneswar home. Anwesh, who can speak both Russian and Ukrainian, played the interpreter’s role even as he consoled her all the time.

Ivanova’s parents and her only brother, who is younger than her, are now living in Chernihiv, which is about 100km from Kyiv.

“We had never expected that Russia will launch a full-fledged war against us. But things changed fast. I am in a relationship with Anwesh. We used to reside in an apartment in Kyiv. When the war began and the situation started to deteriorate in Kyiv, we discussed with our parents. Anwesh proposed that we either move to Chernihiv where my parents stayed or to India where his parents live. Parents on both sides suggested that moving to India was a better option. Accordingly, we left Kyiv,” said Ivanova.

Ivanova, who is at home with Anwesh’s family, talks to her parents every day over phone to know their well-being and update herself on the war situation. “My parents were relieved when I reached India safely. I don’t know when I will be able to go back home and meet them and my friends again. My heart bleeds when I see the devastation caused in my country by the Russians. Everything is in ruins,” said Ivanova, her voice choking with emotion.

Deeply in love with Anwesh, Ivanova wants to spend the rest of her life with him. “We will live and die for each other. Though I miss my parents and my only brother, here I am fine with Anwesh’s parents and friends. I am like the daughter of this house,” said Ivanova.

However, marriage is the last thing on their minds at the moment. “This is only her second visit to Odisha. The first was in 2020. My parents and other family members have accepted her. But we will wait for the situation in Ukraine to normalise before our families take a call on the issue of marriage,” said Anwesh.

Anwesh spoke at length about his first meeting with Ivanova and their love story. “I was working as a medical practitioner in Kyiv after completing my medical studies in 2018. I met Ivanova at a food festival. She was then working as a chef. It was love at first sight. Slowly we learnt more about each other. Ivanova earlier worked as a chef in her home town of Chernihiv. Then she changed job and started working as a logistics manager. In 2021, following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic she changed her job again and started working in an online company and shifted to Kyiv. Then we both started living in Kyiv,” said the 30-year-old.

Anwesh said: “It was my connection with chess that helped me move out of Ukraine without much difficulty. My Ukrainian friend and chess organiser Oleksandr Prohorov, who lives in Lviv, helped me a lot. With his guidance we moved out of Kyiv and went to Lviv and from there to Warsaw in Poland through the less-crowded Uhriniv border, which is 90km from Lviv. As I had played a number of tournaments there and also in Europe, the chess fraternity there was a big help in our safe evacuation.”

The 2016 national rapid chess champion, Anwesh, began his chess career with The Telegraph Schools' Chess Championship way back in 2002 and has won a number of national and international titles including the silver in Asian Youth Chess championship in 2010. He took part in a number of chess tournaments, including Chennai International Open Grandmaster Chess tournament, International Master, Asian Youth championship, World Junior and World Youth chess tournaments and secured the international master norms. “It was my Ukrainian coach Georgy Timoschenko who had made all the arrangements for my medical studies at National Medical University, Bogomolets, in Ukraine. And he was again there to help me during the war crisis,” said Anwesh.

Anwesh, who remains equally worried about the safety and well-being of Ivanova’s parents, is yet to make any elaborate plans for future. “Honestly, I have not given much thought to it. I have an alternative in chess. I will again start playing chess and may open a school to train budding players. I am also thinking of appearing for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination. Once I clear it, I can start a career as a medical practitioner in India. Once the situation improves in Ukraine, we will think about the next course of action,” said the young man.