California Couple Says They Escaped War-Torn Ukraine with Days-Old Newborn
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A couple from California say they barely escaped Ukraine with their newborn child before shelling began amid the ongoing Russian invasion.
Costa Mesa resident Jessie Boeckmann told the Los Angeles Times how she held her 4-day-old daughter Vivian in a baby carrier underneath a jacket and swaddled in a blanket while her husband, Jacob, carried the couple's suitcases.
Together, they braved freezing winds to make the trek from a hospital in Kyiv — where Vivian had been born via surrogate just hours before explosions began to rock the city — to the Ukrainian-Polish border.
As the Times reports, the Boeckmanns traveled from California to Ukraine on Feb. 13, one day before the surrogate was to give birth. When they arrived, doctors said she needed more time — so the couple waited and watched as tensions between Russia and Ukraine reached a fever pitch.
RELATED: Ukraine Leaders Detail Babies Born in Bomb Shelters and Hospital Basements During Invasion
Then the airport in the capital city of Kyiv suspended all flights, leaving the couple and their newborn only one option: leave via the West.
Courtesy toska husted
As the Times details, the couple was in such a rush to leave, they did so at the objection of the hospital, who wanted them to wait until a doctor was able to check in on the baby.
Instead, they rushed out as quickly as they could, once they had secured Vivian's birth certificate, leaving with a driver who spoke only Russian to head to a temporary U.S. Embassy, 340 miles west of the hospital, near the border with Poland.
What was meant to be a six-hour trip took 27 hours due to traffic back-ups and the fact that, mid-journey, the couple learned that the temporary embassy had closed. Their driver took them as close as he could to the border when traffic ground to a halt.
Jessie, 39, told her husband: "Jacob, we need to walk. We're not going to make it if we don't walk," the Times reports.
Seven miles later, they arrived at the border, waiting another two-and-a-half hours before Jessie and Vivian were admitted through in a crush of people.
Jacob faced a problem, as men were not being permitted through the gates. Following much back-and-forth with the guards, as well as phone calls to the U.S. Embassy, he was able to get in via an automobile entrance and the couple was reunited.
Now, the Times reports that they are on their way to Los Angeles.
RELATED: Ga. Couple Seeks Help for Preemie Twin Boys Born via Surrogate in Ukraine: 'Get Our Babies Out'
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Meanwhile, Russia's attack on Ukraine continues after the country invaded on Feb. 24, with forces moving from the north, south and east.
Details of the attack and the fighting change by the day, but this is the first major land conflict in Europe in decades — and hundreds have already been reported dead or wounded, including more than 100 children. Thousands more people have fled or tried to escape Ukraine amid warnings of a possible "refugee crisis."
The invasion, ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, has drawn widespread condemnation around the world and increasingly severe economic sanctions against Russia. Various countries have also pledged aid or military support to Ukraine, whose President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged his country to resist as peace talks between the two countries have stalled.
The Russian attack on Ukraine is an evolving story, with information changing quickly. Follow PEOPLE's complete coverage of the war here, including stories from citizens on the ground and ways to help.
