Ukraine Family Frantically Flees War Zone
“Thanks to our On Wings of Eagles Freedom Flights, families like Maksim’s can succeed in Israel…”
Iryna and Maksim lived three miles away from the Donetsk airport, which has now become known for the fighting that took place there between separatists and the Ukrainian army. Today, the airport is still damaged from the initial attack, and Iryna remembers that day with vivid detail. “There was fierce fighting. I heard sounds that I had never heard before in my whole life.”
The fighting scared Iryna and she began to panic. She rushed around her home packing her son’s inhaler for his asthma and her daughter’s clothes. “I was ready to run away as fast as I could, but I didn’t know where to go. When my husband came home from work, I told him we had to leave immediately.” The next day the family left town.
In order to escape from the war zone, the family needed to switch trains four times and spend a few nights in railway stations. “It was hard to leave because people started to evacuate on a massive scale,” says Maksim.
They ended up settling in a city in the Odessa region surrounded by the Black Sea. “For a month we lived in a relative's apartment,” says Maksim.
The couple always thought about making aliyah (immigrating to Israel), but since their home was surrounded by chaotic fighting, they knew it was the right time to make Israel their home, especially since they knew they could rely on The Fellowship.
Thanks to our On Wings of Eagles Freedom Flights, families like Maksim’s can succeed in Israel. “It’s really important that The Fellowship gave us the necessary information on aliyah,” says Maksim. “They gave us information for our first steps in the country. We have a full list of different resources in Israel, such as local grocery shops and Fellowship volunteer contact information.”
The couple made aliyah with The Fellowship on a recent Freedom Flight and cannot wait to begin their new lives in the Holy Land!
You can help provide the gift of rescue, resettlement, and most of all hope, to families frantically contacting The Fellowship in desperate need. Please help provide a Freedom Flight today.
