Parkhomenko Evacuation and Resettlement Project

February 14, 2023

It has been nearly one full year since the start of the war on Ukraine by Russian forces. During this time, our community of donors and volunteers has helped support the safe passage of three families to the U.S. We appreciate everyone's ongoing commitment to the cause. Below is information on our newest family we are hoping to evacuate Ukraine ASAP:

We learned about the Parkhomenko family in an online group where Ukrainians request support in their bid to flee the war. The Parkhomenkos are a family of 4 (mom, dad, preschool girl, and toddler boy) who currently live in the city of Bucha, which is just outside of the capital Kyiv. Tanya and Dmitri are a young vibrant couple who are desperate to keep their daughter, Sofiia, and son, Nazar, safe.

Now, if Bucha sounds familiar, this is because it was plastered all over the news at the start of the war in 2022. For over a month, Bucha was attacked, and its residents systematically tortured, under Russian military force rule. Besides the adorable picture of the family (which I share with you as this fundraiser's cover picture), Bucha was the first thing that I noticed about the family's story. After a short round of talks, we met with the Parkhomenkos on Zoom and their good friend, Natalia, who now lives in upstate NY. We agreed to help them get to their friend, Natalia, by working with them to complete paperwork, help with their flight (through a charity we have used several times), and maybe get some basic items to start life in New York. My friend, Trish Gyorey, agreed to be the official sponsor for the family with USCIS, and we worked with the Parkhomenkos and Natalia to complete the necessary paperwork.

As part of that application process, I learned of the home address of the family. As a matter of course, I always review the goings-on of the war by following the news timeline provided at https://liveuamap.com/ (click on Time on the top right to manipulate the content back to February-April 2022 for Bucha). This is when I realized the extent of the Parkhomenko's personal war experience. The street where they live in Bucha is extremely close to the bridge to the neighboring city of Irpin, which was the next city on the road to capturing Kyiv. This bridge was a huge target of Russian forces in the early days of the war. As a result of their proximity to this bridge, the Parkhomenkos witnessed and endured some of the most horrific civilian experiences documented in the news thus far in the war. They survived the downing of a Russian airplane into a neighboring home, an entire Russian column destroyed a block behind their house, snipers taking out civilians in the blocks just at the end of their block, munitions that spread loads of flechettes (small metal darts) when they exploded, which caused massive civilian deaths in their neighborhood, the mass grave found in Bucha just a block north of their home, and Russian looting of their own house. The family was left with few resources, constant power outages, ongoing shelling in the region, and a massive amount of trauma. Now with Putin threatening an assault in the north again out of Belarus, the family is desperate to get their children out of harm's way (and so are we).

We have applied for a free flight for the family through our typical charity used for evacuations, but at this time, we have no active approval pending for their tickets (unusual with this organization). We would like to raise funds to help the family cover the cost of their train tickets to Warsaw, Poland, overnight accommodations, and a flight from Warsaw to New York City (the closest major international airport to where Natalia and her family live). If any donated funds exceed necessary costs, then we will provide those funds to Natalia and the family.

If the charity decides to choose the Parkhomenkos for a free evacuation plan out of Ukraine, we will also then apply 100% of the funds raised to resettlement efforts. The family is coming with only 1 checked bag and a couple of carry-ons for a family of 4; it's really all they have left after being looted, so they will be looking for a fresh start with all the basic essentials and will welcome any donations folks can provide.

Costs we are hoping to cover with donations:

Tickets from Kyiv to Warsaw: $98

Overnight accommodations: $85

Tickets for 4 from Warsaw to JFK: best prices right now are $2,572 (with a layover in Vienna); direct flight is $3,082

Thank you for helping to support the Parkhomenko family's evacuation out of Ukraine. We will be posting updates as the process unfolds with the family both here on GoFundMe, but also on our Facebook page where we document information about sponsorship: https://www.facebook.com/groups/833597907623733