Hayden Panettiere and Wladimir Klitschko put wedding on hold due to civil unrest in Ukraine

Wladimir's brother, Vitali Klitschko, is one of the leading political figures championing reform in Ukraine

Heroes star Hayden Panettiere has announced her decision to put her wedding to fiancé Wladimir Klitschoko on hold due to the civil turmoil in Ukraine.

The Hollywood actress and her long-time partner, who is the boxer brother of the leader of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform Vitali Klitscho, has been seen attending political rallies in the country, supporting the efforts championed by the siblings.

In an interview with Parade magazine, she said that the couple’s primary concern was the nation’s growing unrest.

“Everything that's happening in Ukraine definitely put a hold on things. But we have time,” she said.

“I spend a lot of time in Ukraine and I completely agree with what Wladimir and Vitali are fighting for,” she told Cosmopolitan magazine in an interview in March.

“We want justice and democracy for Ukrainians.”

Wladimir and Hayden at the Giorgio Armani show in Milan in January 2014

Her comments come as several people were reportedly killed in fighting between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian troops in Slovyansk.

The Interior Minister, Arsen Avakov, said in a statement published on his agency's website that pro-Russian forces were deploying powerful weapons and mortars in the region and there were injured people on both sides.

He added that government troops were facing about 800 insurgents.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for a pro-Russian group in Slovyansk said an unspecified number of people had been killed and wounded in the clashes, including a 20-year-old woman killed by a stray bullet.

READ MORE: ATTACK ON SLOVYANSK SHATTERS HOPE FOR PEACE
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