SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It's been more than a week since Tetiana Kovalova safely landed in Sacramento and embraced her daughter Oksana Hill after fleeing the war in Ukraine.
"It was such a big relief to have her here because she's safe, but it's painful to watch what's going on," Hill said.
After reuniting in Sacramento, the two returned to Hill's home in Rescue, CA.
It was no easy journey for Kovalova to cross the border and fly to the U.S. Kovalova lived in Kharkiv where she ran a small business selling cookies and candy. Kharkiv was one of the first cities hit by the Russian invasion and at first, Kovalova said she was in denial about the severity of the attack.
"We never thought our neighbor would attack us. Until the very last moment, we refused to believe it," Kovalova said.
Hill watched the situation unfold nearly half a world away and could hardly sleep or eat. She urged her mother to escape the country before things escalated further and she eventually did, just in time.
"By the time I got ready to go, I was leaving while they were bombing and shelling the city," Kovalova said.
Kovalova was able to seek shelter in the basement of an apartment where she spent the night. The next day, she boarded an evacuation train and fled from Kharkiv. She grabbed only a few items and left life as she knew it behind.
"There were a lot of people in train cars. Everyone was helping, everyone was sharing food and water," Kovalova said.
Along the treacherous journey, the train made a stop in Kyiv. It was pulled under a bridge as gunshots rang out and bombs flew overhead.
"At one point, there was no electricity in Kyiv so we had to stop and just stay there," Kovalova said.
It took many additional stops and over 24 hours in total before making it to Uzhgorod near the Slovakian border. Kovalova said the trip was so treacherous, she wasn't sure if she'd survive.
Kovalova said while she was waiting a woman passed away in one of the buses after suffering a heart attack.
"A lot of men from eastern Ukraine are taking their wives and their children and their families to western Ukraine because it's a little bit safer there now and then they're returning and going to fight the Russians."
Kovalova described the resiliency of children as they were crossing the border with their mothers.
"Some women had two or three kids with them. It seemed like the kids understood that they couldn't cry, they shouldn't be throwing tantrums, that they had to sit and follow what their mom was telling them and be stoic," Kovalova said.
Although relieved that she's safe and reunited with her daughter, Kovalova's son along with her sister and two brothers remain in Kharkiv with their families. They refuse to leave and are sheltering in place.
Every morning, Kovalova calls to check-in and when they don't pick up, she prays they're still alive.
"We're not ready to lose our relatives, our parents, our children because of ambitions of one person," Kovalova said.
Kovalova said Russian president Vladimir Putin is causing grief, death, and pain to so many innocent Ukrainians. She said she wants the world to take action and fight with Ukraine.
"There's so many lives that have been upended. So many lives that have been ruined," Kovalova said. "We continue to hope that we can restore Ukraine and rebuild our cities that they will become more beautiful and better and that our children will have the future in Ukraine."
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