Two months of being witness to an unbreakable spirit.

This is the account from a Tauranga local who left to begin volunteering in Ukraine on October 6.

With experience of cooking at Tauranga's Falls Café and a passion for dogs, local Harriet Campbell decided to put her expertise together, cooking for soldiers and tending to dog shelters in the war-torn country.

But before Harriet set foot on Ukraine soil, she had to front her most dreaded question.

'Why would you go to Ukraine? People would ask.”

Before leaving to Ukraine, Harriet Campbell, right, raised money for children and soldiers in the country by serving up special Ukrainian menu items. Photo: John Borren.

'It's so hard to answer in a few short words. I think one of the biggest things which pushed me to go was watching how the people of Ukraine reacted to the invasion in the first few hours and days of the war,” says Harriet.

'No one expected their defiance and it was awe-inspiring.”

It was then Harriet decided to do all she could 'to help them continue to resist Putin's aggression".

Upon arriving in Ukraine, Harriet began volunteering at a kitchen and dog shelter in Lviv, then to Kyiv to work in another shelter, and spent the rest of her time at a kitchen and bakery in Kharkiv.

Harriet with her project partner, Jason, left, handing over torniquets (a device to apply pressure to injured limbs) which she raised money for at Falls Café to Oleksy, a soldier in the Ukrainian army. Photo: Supplied/SunLive.

'No matter where I went, I was blown away by how kind, generous and unbreakable the people were.”

In Lviv, Harriet met a dog from the Borodyanka shelter disaster.

'During the first days of the invasion, the Russian army wouldn't let staff enter a large shelter in Borodyanka.

'Approximately 500 dogs were inside and didn't get any food or water for weeks. The majority of the poor creatures had died before staff and volunteers were allowed in to rescue them.”

Harriet met another furry soldier who survived a jump from the ninth floor of a bombed out apartment in Mariupol.

Harriet at the dog shelter in Lviv. Photo: Supplied/SunLive.

'The dog on the right is Skye. This is the one which had to jump from the ninth floor. Amazingly, she made a full recovery.”

The emotional impact of seeing a war-torn city like Karhkiv made it a hard place to document for Harriet.

'I didn't get many photos while in Kharkiv as it was too upsetting. So many destroyed buildings and very few people left in the city.”

The street of Harriet's accommodation in Kharkiv. Photo: Supplied/SunLive.

'You can see from the street view how few people there are. My accommodation was surrounded by damaged buildings.”

Harriet says she would have left to Ukraine "much sooner" if she could.

"I have left a lot of people in Ukraine I care about so much and worry about them and how they will get through this winter."

A Russian army ration pack, which was given to a Ukranian worker at one kitchen as a ground souvenir. Despite being packed not long ago, it was already expired. Photo: Supplied/SunLive.

"The snow has come early this year. The average temperature in Kharkiv during the day is between -3 and 0 degrees celcius.

"It is hard to imagine how bad the situation is without being there, especially as New Zealand is coming into summer, but I am desperate for people to not forget about what is happening in Ukraine and for them to know it is only getting worse."

Maidan Square in Kyiv centre "still surrounded" with anti-tank hedgehogs. Photo: Supplied/SunLive.

"There is talk even major cities will have to be evacuated soon as there will be no heating or power. Where millions of people will go if this does happen is unknown."