The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought them together, highlighting two starkly different worlds.

Sasha, mum Yulia and her stepdad were fired on by a Russian tank, as they tried to flee in their car.

"The stepdad was killed, Sasha and her mother ran to an underground bunker where they stayed for two days," said Jillian Berry, the mother of Lake Macquarie's Sascha.

"It was impossible to leave as heavy fighting was going on outside."

Sasha was in horrific pain, while slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Finally her mother and a few others wrapped her in a sheet and ran to the hospital. Gangrene had set in and doctors amputated her arm to save her life."

Ms Berry and daughter Sascha started a fundraiser for the Ukrainian girl.

"It's really sad to see kids getting hurt in the war. When Mum showed me Sasha's picture without her arm, I was shocked. She's the same age as me but so brave," said Sascha, of Charlton Christian College in Fassifern.

"I was thinking about how she wouldn't be able to do things like play netball or piano and I just wanted to cry. I wished I could help her and be her friend, but she's so far away.

"Mum said maybe we could help raise some money for her, so at least she could buy new birthday presents. I hope Sasha can get some new clothes that are easy to put on without needing two arms and some lollies and things to cheer her up a little bit."

Ms Berry is a single mum with four daughters.

"I don't have a tonne of spare cash to send Sasha. But if a lot of people give a little bit, it adds up," Ms Berry said.

"So I asked people who read my mum blog [The Motherlode on Facebook] to help via a GoFundMe page [titled Love for Sasha]."

About $6000 has been raised.

Ms Berry asked if people could "give $9 for this precious 9-year-old".

"Lots of people chipped in. People really do care. I think a lot of parents understand how it could easily be our kids in the same situation and wonder how we'd cope," she said.

"To see a mum, now a single mum, having to go through all this pain, lose her whole world and have to support her daughter through something like this is just heartbreaking."

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Ms Berry said kids and adults "feel a bit helpless when we hear about so much devastation".

"There's such a huge need, it's hard to know where to start. Especially when we've been supporting people in the floods. We decided we could start by helping just one Ukrainian family.

"When I saw an article about this little girl losing her arm and realised she had the same name and almost the same birth date as my daughter, it really hit hard. We knew that was the person we needed to help."

She tracked down Sasha's dad Anton and her aunty on social media and gained permission to help.

"He was very appreciative that we made contact. The language barrier makes it hard to communicate, but he's been sending little videos and updates," she said.

"I've sent photos of my daughter to him and we noticed how similar they are. He told me how brave his daughter had been and that he wants her to be known as a kid with a lot of courage, not as a victim.

"He kept saying thank you, thank you, thank you. And I just felt a bit guilty to be honest. To be in a position to help, to not have bombs dropping outside our house is such a privilege."

Sasha's aunty Anna Gaponova sent Ms Berry updates and a few selfies she had taken in the Kyiv hospital, before Sasha and her mother were taken out of Ukraine.

Sasha is now in Rome with her mum, getting more treatment at the Baby Jesus Children's Hospital.

"Sasha is doing better now. She's still in pain and also feeling phantom pain, but she is doing her best like the little hero she is. But the psychological pain for her and her mother is huge. They are stable physically but need time and positive emotions to heal," Ms Berry said.

"Sasha can't believe so many people are helping and supporting her. She is so grateful and it makes her smile. She wants to say hello and thank you to everyone."

Ms Berry said it was important that "Aussie kids understand how lucky they are".

"If you can find a way for them to help others, it really helps them process the scary and sad things in the world."