As we spoke, Russian troops were just kilometres away from Kharkiv, the town where she grew up.

But there isn’t much the 41-year-old graphic designer can do from her home in Shawlands - except praying the conflict will not escalate further.

“I had a very difficult several hours in the morning that I was not able to get in touch with my father in Kharkiv,” she said.

“And right now, the Russian military is getting closer to the city, right next to where I spent my whole childhood. 

“I am extremely worried and very, very angry as well.”

Olena in her Ukrainian hometown, Kharkiv

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Kharkiv is only some 40km from the Russian border, in the eastern part of the country. It is said to be a major target in the conflict.

Despite living near the Western border, in Ivano-Frankivsk, Olena’s mother is not safe either. 

The city's airport was destroyed by Russian missiles on Thursday morning. 

In the pictures she sent to her daughter, dense, black smoke rises not too far from residential flats.

Pictures from Ivano-Frankivsk, where Olena's mother lives, show dark, dense smoke rising from the bombed airport

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Olena is organising for her brother, who lives nearby, to take their 75-year-old mother to the other side of the border, to Romania or Poland.

There, they hope she will be able to board a flight to Scotland, should the situation worsen.

Olena said: “I thought at least she would be fine. Until today, when the Russian army bombed the airport, which is quite close to where she stays.

“She's getting older and she needs to be looked after but she doesn’t have the right documents to come here yet.

“This is another problem because if the war expands to where she lives, she would have to flee at short notice.

“The plan is to just put everything in the car and move towards the border, apparently there are several days’ worth of queues on the roads.”

Olena's daughter, Sofia, playing in the fountains in the main square of Kyiv, Independence Square, in Summer 2018

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Olena has lived in Glasgow with her British-American husband and 10-year-old daughter Sofia since 2016.

The family left Ukraine a few years after Sofia was born.

Now, they hope the invasion will die down without further victims and destruction. 

At the time of writing, 40 soldiers and up to 10 civilians have died, with missile strikes and explosions reported near major cities.

Panic is ensuing in the streets and several thousands have already crossed the border into neighbouring countries. 

“It is really hard to make any predictions," added Olena. "But, yes, it is a full-scale invasion. 

“We need more action from Europe - this is not just an attack on Ukraine, it is an attack on the civilised world. 

“Ukraine right now is what stands between Russia and the rest of the world and we need help.”

Olena's husband and daughter with her mother in Rouken Glen, during a visit to Scotland