It has been two decades since Onur Hekim settled in Ukraine's Kyiv. As the city faces the turmoil of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Turkish restaurateur decided to help war-weary locals seeking shelter from imminent attacks. Every day, he and local volunteers cook food for nearly 1,000 Ukrainians in the city and deliver it to people, either at the restaurant or at metro stations where they sought refuge.

Hekim hails from the western Turkish province of Izmir and was running a restaurant in Kyiv before the war broke out. He chose to help the victims instead of leaving the city, where many shops have closed because of the war.

In a post shared on social media, he called on volunteers to prepare meals at his restaurant for the people displaced by the war. Many volunteers signed up for the project in which 1,000 people are fed daily.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) on Monday, Hekim said that he never thought of leaving Ukraine even when war broke out in the country. "I've been living in Kyiv for 20 years, I've stayed on Ukrainian soil for 20 years, I have breathed in the air of this place, I grew up with these people," Hekim said. "There is absolutely no financial gain for me, on the contrary, today is our 14th day of food distribution. I bear all the expenses myself. I do this with pleasure because I have been earning my bread on this land for 20 years," he said.

At places where the fighting is intense, he said people hug the volunteers distributing food packages. "It is an incredible reaction. It is very difficult for me to describe these feelings," he added.

Ukraine hosts a sizeable Turkish community. Since the war broke out, Turkey has evacuated thousands of its citizens from the country, along with citizens of other countries, as well as some Ukrainians with relatives in Turkey.

Turkey in the meantime runs humanitarian aid campaigns for people affected by the war. The Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) recently sent 13 trucks of aid to the country and plans to dispatch more. The charity is active both in a town on the Romanian border where people flee to, as well as Ukraine's Chernivtsi region. Turkish Red Crescent President Kerem Kınık told the media last week that they would also send shelter equipment for displaced people to the country. The Turkish Ministry of Health also set up a field hospital on the Romanian-Ukrainian border. In Chernivtsi, a mobile kitchen of the Turkish Red Crescent operates in the main square while volunteers regularly deliver aid in other spots as well.