Vicky, whose parents live near Ellenabeich, will be taking part in the Kyiv ’Unbroken’ Half Marathon on Trukhaniv Island next month.
She has launched a crowdfunding appeal to raise funds for the Kharkiv and Przemyśl Project and Brave to Rebuild, which are organisations helping Ukrainians whose homes have been damaged or destroyed in Russian attacks.
Vicky has spent years visiting, learning and writing about Russia’s treatment of its many religious minorities and since attacks started on Ukraine she has travelled there several times to work as a volunteer.
First she helped refugees at the border fleeing to Poland and then went to volunteer in Ukraine itself, filling "niche" roles, said her dad Stephen Arnold, such as making special ration energy bars for troops in front-line trenches, and camouflage netting for helmets.
Earlier this year, she joined a group repairing damaged homes in the Kiev area.
"While visiting us here on Seil recently, she trained every day and managed a couple of runs equivalent to the 1/2-marathon distance," said Dr Arnold, who added that when Vicky goes to Ukraine, she takes unpaid leave from her job in Oxford, and covers all her travel and accommodation costs herself.