‘Every morning we check to see if our family is living’: woman with family trying to flee Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started four days ago, but the damage already done will last much longer.

As the war continues, people with family in Ukraine desperately check in to make sure their loved ones are OK.

Oleksander Dobrovolnyi is in Kyiv, one of the major battlegrounds. He says the last three days have been like a terrible movie.

“Now it’s impossible to leave because it’s blocked — the bridges are broken,” he said.

Dobronvolnyi’s relatives Olena and Frank Heese watch helplessly from Berlin, Germany.

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“We are checking every morning to see if our family is living. It’s terrible,” said Olena.

The Heeses have family at Ukraine’s border who have waited days now to cross into Poland. They’re supporting Ukraine however they can, attending peace rallies and getting apartments ready for four refugee families.

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Frank says each day they receive distressing text messages from family trying to flee Ukraine.

“You can’t believe how often we are crying because of this situation. It is unbelievable.”

Dobronvolnyi says he worries how his homeland will restore itself after so much infrastructure has been destroyed.

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“It’s a really beautiful country with is always was a modern, infrastructure,” Dobronvolnyi. “Now the main part of this infrastructure is totally broken.”

While the destruction of war is all around him, his optimism doesn’t waver.

“We will win,” he said. “It’s our land, and it’s our country.”