Winnipeg student rescues her younger sister from Russian onslaught in Ukrainian hometown

Anastasiia Seleznova's Facebook page features a video of her younger sister, Yasieniia Manko, 9, competing in a kung-fu tournament in their hometown of Kharkiv, Ukraine. 

But even Manko's fighting spirit could not prepare her for the war that was about envelope her hometown. 

That's when her sister sprang into action.

The Canadian Mennonite University international student travelled to Poland to meet and pick up her sister, who was huddled in a bomb shelter in Kharkiv, a city being shelled by Russian troops.

Manko says "the most significant memory is when the air fighter was passing by because the walls trembling so much that the windows were broken in pieces, Seleznova, 25, said, translating for her sister. "You can feel this internally, your internal body trembling the same with the walls."

"The war knocked on our door Feb. 24. My best friend called me around our 10 p.m. and the first thing I heard was the air alert on that side of the phone and I understand that something wrong." Seleznova said.

At that time, Seleznova had no clue how she could help her family back in the Ukraine. Her mother, who visiting her in Winnipeg, was desperate with her child, husband and parents in the war zone. 

"You're helpless, you're desperate, you don't know how to deal with this," she said.  "You don't know what you can do from 9,000 kilometres …" Seleznova said. 

Shortly after this time Manko was moved into a bomb shelter with her grandparents.

Seleznova turned her desperation into a strategy. She launched the GoFundMe campaign on March 4 with a goal of $8,500 to cover the cost of the trip.

And while the goal was reached by March 12, Seleznova didn't wait around for it. She left with her boyfriend on March 5. The plan was to fly from Winnipeg and meet Manko in Krakow, Poland. 

Seleznova's best friend offered to travel from western Ukraine to Kharkiv in the east to pick up Manko, she said. They would then travel to Poland and meet Seleznova in Krakow.  

On March 5, Manko managed to get to the railway station in Kharkiv, a hot spot in the war zone.