As families try to escape Ukraine, one family made it all the way to Los Angeles in a journey that took them through several countries. Robert Kovacik reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on March 14, 2022.
Just after the train pulled into union station, a mother and child took their first steps in Los Angeles.
“I don’t believe. I am here, I am here, yeah,” said Anna Bilonozhko who escaped Ukraine. “Because family, rescued family.”
“In U.S. border, this was the miracle,” said Marina Sokolovska, who escaped Ukraine.
Sokolovska moved from Ukraine to Beverly Hills 15 years ago, but then war broke out and with relatives still in Ukraine, she couldn’t stay put.
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“It’s not fair, it’s not fair to any human,” Sokolovska said.
Her brother, Roman, who is on the front lines sent her videos of communities destroyed.
“Please help us any help us, any help, I am begging you. at least for women and kids,” Sokolovska translates.
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Her cousin and best friend, Anna, and her 6-year-old son were alone in an underground shelter.
“Maybe a week, no food, no water, it is why we up and go,” Bilonozhko said.
They got into a car and escaped kiev.
“She was literally the whole time praying for her life and for the baby,” Sokolovska said. “We try to move forward, there is obstacles,”
So many women and children are trying to get out, with no visas immediately available. They head to Croatia, Budapest, back to Croatia and then Amsterdam.
Finally, in Tijuana, Mexico Marina has her U.S. passport but what Anna and her son Mark did not.
They were told they would be released in the morning.
“I cry all day all day, only cry cause I was scared,” Bilonozhko said.
Marina still worries about her brother in battle in Kiev and her parents in Donetsk, a city under siege.
She says there is no longer any cell service there and she has spoken to them in over a week.
