Local Hoosier near recent attack on Ukrainian military base still helping refugees

 

The Russian military bombed more civilian targets at a Ukrainian military base very close to the Polish border. A Michiana translator, still trapped in Ukraine woke up to the explosions, but he's still trying to help get refugees out of the war-torn nation.

Taras Petro said he’s been witnessing and hearing all the devastation since Sunday.

After Russia widened its aerial attacks that struck a military base in Yavoriv and killed at least 35 people, not far from the Polish border where Petro said he’s been staying since evacuating from the Kiev area.

“It happened so quick that we didn’t have time to hide. It was more like aww and shock but we knew it was coming,” said Petro. “It was pretty much look out the window to make sure nothing was flying at us at which point everybody of course woke up because the whole village was woken up by the loud sound of the missiles, it was only to observe where the threat was coming.”

Petro who’s a Knox Indiana resident was working as a translator, but has been stuck in Ukraine for more than a month and he says with Russian attacks now moving even closer he feels things are only getting worse.

“It was about five o clock in the morning when I heard a very noise that sounded twice as loud as an airplane engine revving. I saw the after effects of two missiles flying in the direction of the military base,” he explained.

The latest attack was just 15 miles from the Polish border where many Ukrainians are fleeing to safety and Petro is still aiding in the effort, risking his own life to drive women and children escape the war.

“You can turn anything bad into something good, obviously you can see I’m in my car 5,000 miles away from home and at this point I’m taking women and children from the city of Lviv back and forth three to four times a day,” he added.

Men age 18 to 60 are not allowed to leave because of the lockdown, but since Russia attacked back on February 24th officials have estimated more than 2.8 million Ukrainians have fled the war-torn country.

Petro said he’s been helping drive women and children since then to and from the border and he also told ABC57 he will do that for as long as he can until he’s allowed to leave the country and come back home to Indiana.

If you’d like to help support his efforts you can contact Petro at 313-457-7777.