'I'll never leave them': The woman single-handedly looking after a hundred dogs in a warzone

"When the explosions hit, they panic and howl a lot," says Olena Vorontsova, describing the brutal reality of trying to run a shelter for dozens of abandoned dogs in the middle of a warzone. "But I will never leave my dogs."

It was very different nine years ago when Olena started her dog shelter in Dnipro - Ukraine's fourth largest city - after finding a puppy on the side of the road.

Her husband was unhappy with the decision - for Olena, it was the first of many dogs she would eventually take in.

"In the end I took her home, and I have never regretted it," she said.

Since Putin's invasion in Ukraine last February, the numbers of dogs she is looking after has soared to nearly 100, with more in need of help every day.

In the initial aftermath of the outbreak of war, humanitarian aid was brought to the Dnipro area by volunteers, but Vorontsova, 36, said it has nearly stopped as time has gone on, leaving her desperate for help to look after the dogs in her care.

With limited funding, she is struggling to feed and look after the dogs and get the right vet treatment for those suffering from injury or illness.

Read more: What's happening in Ukraine at the moment?

But despite the challenges and the struggle and terror of war, Vorontsova has never considered abandoning the animals in her care.

The Red Shed, an animal welfare charity based in Ireland, is now trying to help her so she can move the dogs to a safer plot of land with more space and appropriate facilities.

Vorontsova was born in the Lugansk region of Ukraine and moved to Dnipro with her parents when she was 13.

Her parents still live in the city, but her father recently suffered a stroke, meaning her support network is already strained.

Despite having no background in animal care or any formal training, she has continued to take dogs in - before the war in Ukraine last year she was looking after 32.

Since then, the number has swelled to 88 with desperate people leaving dogs with her, leading Vorontsova to have to turn many away.

Many are pregnant due to not having been neutered, and she is also battling an outbreak of parvo virus and enteritis - both situations she has never had to deal with on this scale before.

Asked why she hasn't fled Dnipro, she said: "I didn't even ask this question. Because I wouldn't have left them, no matter what has happened.

"I will never leave my dogs," she told Yahoo News UK. "There are several people without whose help and moral support, I would have given up a long time ago. To say that I am grateful to them is to say nothing, but I am alone again on my own with no protection."

Vorontsova, now divorced, is enduring a gruelling daily routine that starts at 7am and continues until midnight as she cleans out all of the kennels and cages, prepares food for all of the dogs and feeds them, as well as playing with younger puppies who need to be kept occupied.

"I am exhausted - I don't have any help because most people are busy trying to survive - and I am getting weaker and weaker. I can feel the effects on me mentally, emotionally and physically, but I will not give up."

Describing her situation with the help of one of The Red Shed's volunteers, Valentyna, she said despite there being government schemes to help small shelters, it is increasingly difficult to access funds and support.

"The longer the war goes on, the harder it is to get help because everyone is scared to give what they have in case they do not have enough for themselves.

"In the early days, people would share so much, but now one year later, it is very, very hard to get help."

Vorontsova has used all of her own savings and is now dependant on getting food or medicine wherever she can from other shelters. Her lack of funds means she cannot take dogs to the local vet hospital, which means she is waiting for help from organisations like Worldwide Vets, but that could take time.

She desperately needs more space - the current shelter's capacity is technically only for 30 dogs - to safely house all of the dogs, as well as to ensure she has space to separate sick dogs from healthy ones.

Speaking to Yahoo News UK, The Red Shed founder Sandy Sheerin said: "Olena is one of the very few shelter managers in this region who understands the need for space to move around and not just cage animals until their death.

"I'm incredibly worried about her. I am working on getting Worldwide Vets out to her, but they are so far away, it will take weeks to get to her.

"Dog food is scarce and she is feeding the dogs oats/porridge to keep them fed. We are trying to get shipments to her of dog food, but at the moment she is on her own."

Sheerin said The Red Shed had found out about her plight from volunteer Valentyna.

"Valentyna was approached by another volunteer to ask if we could send dog food," she said. "After that, Valentyna spoke with Olena and agreed to help after learning of her situation. We were not aware of how dire it was until on the ground and saw.

"With enough funding, The Red Shed is looking to properly build a functioning shelter for her, with enclosures to protect the animals from the harsh climate, in a rural area away from the areas that have been getting hit. She needs it because these 88 dogs are not going to be adopted or leaving any time soon.

"When we asked Olena what her wish was, she said, 'Good warm clean enclosures, a large walking area, possibly a hygiene room for veterinary emergency treatments'.

"She is hoping that if The Red Shed can help with a new shelter, she will get some proper training to help her administer better first-aid care/treatments to the dogs.

"The work she has been doing is amazing, but she can't carry on alone. She needs our help."

To find out more information, please contact The Red Shed.