Mother and 4 kids safe in SWFL after escaping Ukraine

A mother and her four kids are now safe in Southwest Florida after escaping Ukraine. Hear her story of leaving her husband behind and the long road she took to get here.

An unimaginable journey they never dreamed they’d ever take. Olga Skrypak came from Ukraine and is just relieved to be here. “We got in the plane, and I just… I could breathe,” said Skrypak.

After multiple bus and train trips and that one plane ride, Olga Skrypak and her four kids, Herman, Teresa, Marta and Liza, are safe in Southwest Florida.

“It was a miracle you see circumstances working out for us to leave,” she said.

Weeks ago, the family lived in downtown Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. That’s when the Russian invasion changed their world. The sound of bombings and sirens is still vivid in their minds.

“It was really… well no one should go through something like this because you see families with infants, with little dogs, with little cats and older people carrying their little kitchen chairs to sit,” Skrypak said.

Olga’s husband, Sasha is a pastor. Their church was nearby, so they decided to take shelter there and opened its doors to those in need. For several days they helped evacuate women and children. They sent them off on buses headed to western Ukraine.

Then, an empty bus came, and they had to decide to stay or go. Sasha stayed, and Olga and the kids left.

When they reached Poland, she said the scene was unreal. “It was like in a movie when you see the stadium, the football or soccer stadium. People just lying and standing and sitting everywhere. It is too loud. Children crying and the loudspeaker tells you where to go, what to do,” said Skrypak.

She’s still in contact with her husband. But she hasn’t heard from her parents in days.

“I can not believe it’s happening [to] me,” Skrypak said.

Skrypak hopes to return to Ukraine when the war is over. They hope to return to a Ukraine that is free.

She was able to escape to SWFL thanks to longtime family friends Becky and Randy Gluff.

To help Sasha Skrypak and people still in Ukraine, they can send funds to FriendsOfUkraine.info and designate “Skrypak family.” Or, to help Olga and her kids, you can donate through LifePoint church and select “Ukrainian family,” both are tax-deductible.