Escape From a War Zone

Boom! A loud explosion jolted 10-year-old Vladik Rokhmail out of sleep. His sister, Anhelina, heard it too. It was a little after 5 a.m. on February 24, 2022. Russia had just invaded Ukraine. The kids’ hometown, Derhachi, is only about 20 miles from the Russian border.

“I didn’t understand at first,” Vladik recalls. “It was scary.”

Anhelina rushed to wake their parents, who came up with a plan. They would drive to the kids’ grandparents’ house a few miles away and hide in their basement until it was safe.

There was no time to waste. Vladik stuffed his backpack with some clothes, his cell phone, and his laptop. Then the family scooped up their puppy, Nika, and headed out the door. 

They had no idea what the future would hold—for their family or their homeland. 

Vladik, Anhelina, and their parents spent five nights huddled in their grandparents’ basement. Outside, the roar of explosions and military planes filled the air.

The Rokhmails decided it wasn’t safe to stay in Ukraine. But getting out wouldn’t be easy. Millions of people were streaming toward the country’s borders, desperate to escape. The kids had to say goodbye to their grandparents, who chose to stay behind.

“It was very difficult to leave,” says Anhelina, who is now 15. “We cried all the time.”

At first, the family drove to a friend’s house in western Ukraine. Along the way, they drove by houses, businesses, and roads that had been destroyed by bombs.

Over the next few months, the Rokhmails stayed with friends and relatives as they made their way through Romania and Germany. In June, they boarded a plane to the U.S.