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Pizza Profits For Ukraine

Natalia's brother's children and cousins are sheltering from Russian missiles.

A pizza shop in St Helier is donating 100% of its takings tonight (21 March) to help people in Ukraine.

Natalia Baker's family are trapped in Odessa.

Wages have been heavily cut or staff laid off because of the Russian invasion.

Natalia, who runs The Fresh Crust Pizza Company at Colomberie with partner Mike, says food prices have rocketed and supplies are scarce.

"They can't buy anything (like) it was before because (there is) no food as it was before  - and price rises are crazy.  More than double.

They can't get food because they haven't wages.

They can't sell their car (to raise money) because nobody is buying, and to run from their home? For how long? It's only allowed to take 20 litres of petrol from the fuel station for normal cars.  They can't even run."

Natalia has lived in the island for three years.  Her former husband and the father of her children is in the Ukrainian military, fighting to defend the country.

She says all government workers, including teachers and medics, have been put on to zero hours contracts and required to take a pay cut of 75%.

Others have been put on unpaid leave and told to stay at home, or to work on a voluntarily basis.

"Ukrainian city Odessa  is not as bad as other already destroyed cities now, but the government is restructuring the workforce and making redundancies.

So mostly all of my family members had to go for unpaid vacation or have to work for cutted (sic) wages which is, for example 25%, of their previous wage.

And nobody knows for how long it will be, and whether they will be alive or not tomorrow as constant missiles and rockets are exploding nearby and in the sky."

Natalia fears the port-city of Odessa will be next to face the tragedy seen in Mariupol, which has been under constant bombardment.

"Financial support is disappearing.  They have to rely on volunteers help.  Somehow they are trying to defend this city, but I need to help them because they are now in trouble.

I can help only financially, to my family and volunteers... because government is not supplying what it was before.  No budget  - it is all going to the military, or whatever."

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