Ukrainian man building model ships in a war zone

Vitaliy Vrubel makes model ships in his flat in Dnipro

Vitaliy Vrubel Model building — Vitaliy Vrubel makes model ships in his flat in Dnipro

A retired engineer living in a Ukrainian city under constant threat of bombing is making a replica model ship to be displayed in a Cornish museum.

Vitaliy Vrubel is making a model of Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance after being commissioned by the Shipwreck Treasure Museum, in Charlestown, Cornwall.

He said: "We live with the understanding we can die at any moment.

"Missile strikes are carried out regularly.

"Air raid sirens wail day and night. We don't hide in a bomb shelter because there isn't one. We just go to the hall where there are no windows."

Mr Vribel has been making model boats for about 10 years

Vitaliy Vrubel Model — Mr Vribel has been making model boats for about 10 years

The commission came about when the museum's managing director saw a post on the social media network LinkedIn.

Mr Vrubel's daughter, Nataliia, was appealing for somewhere for her father to safely store his models during the conflict.

The pair succeeded in finding a safe place for his collection.

The museum has a plinth ready for the model, but does not know how it will be transported

Plinth — The museum has a plinth ready for the model, but does not know how it will be transported

But Mr Vrubel, 64, is making the model for the museum in the loft of his fourth floor apartment in Dnipro, where he lives with his wife.

The former engineer said: "The desire to create accurate historical copies of ships requires careful study of the material, the historical features of the era and the specifics of the vessel.

"It takes a lot of time, but it is very interesting.

"The captain had to know everything about the ship, even down to the smallest detail.

"So, in the same way, the modeller must know everything about the ship they are building. The process is exciting."

Speaking about the conflict, he said: "There's a war going on now. I have never had an idea that I will have to live in the midst of a war. Yes, I've read books about war, I've seen films about it, but I've never imagined it would ever happen.

"I feel that even if we're not on the front-line, we are still fighting. We're still waging this war. It's not possible to be hidden from it."

Great attention to detail goes into Mr Vribel's models, some of which he has made with a friend before the war

Vitaliy Vrubel Ship — Great attention to detail goes into Mr Vribel's models, some of which he has made with a friend before the war

A plinth will be placed within the museum's exhibition about Shackleton, the polar explorer, that will eventually house Mr Vrubel's model once it is completed and "somehow finds its way from Ukraine to Cornwall", the museum said.

The museum's managing director, Ramon Van De Velde, said: "Like so many people we were keen to see how we can help the people in Ukraine.

"This is an opportunity to tell the story of ordinary Ukrainians, through Vitaliy, whose lives have been upturned through no fault of their own."

The exhibition is at the Shipwreck Treasures Museum, in Charlestown, Cornwall

Exhibition — The exhibition is at the Shipwreck Treasures Museum, in Charlestown, Cornwall

The Endurance got stuck in ice in Antarctica in 1915, leaving Shackleton to cross the treacherous Southern Ocean, and traverse the island of South Georgia to get help for his crew, all 27 of whom survived.

Mr Vrubel said the story resonates with him and the situation facing his country: "Shackleton wrote 'we have seen the very essence of the human soul'…and this came through endurance. And this is something none of the other great seafarers can boast.

"It seems to me that Sir Shackleton has discovered something greater than just a piece of dry land or just a spot on the map."