The Road to Hell: A lieutenant commander who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan takes Americans out of Ukraine while air raid sirens ring
- Brian Stern has so far organized six buses to leave Ukraine, carrying mostly American citizens
- Stern is a veteran of the U.S. Army and Navy who has served in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
- He created Project Dynamo in August 2021 while overseeing the catastrophic evacuation from Afghanistan
- The State Department told the Americans that it would not come to save them from Ukraine
- On February 10, Biden warned that the Americans should leave Ukraine, but many remained
- A spokesman for Project Dynamo said efforts were slowing and hampered by air strikes
- Three buses are now leaving Ukraine; three others have already left the area
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Project Dynamo founder Brian Stern, carrying the American passports of those from the group that evacuated this week
A lieutenant commander who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan for the navy and army has brought more Americans out of war-torn Ukraine today and is scheduled to return to the conflict zone to learn more this week.
Brian Stern is taking Americans out of Ukrainian cities last Friday, a day after Putin launched his first attack on Ukraine with donor-funded Project Dynamo.
He has taken out at least 60 people since then. Three more buses are due to leave today. The groups drive 18 hours from Kyiv and other cities to the Romanian border, where they then cross and plan their next move.
Photos and videos provided to the DailyMail.com by the group show them leaving Kyiv with Stern carrying a stack of US passports.
They are taking quieter routes to Romania to try to avoid becoming a target on the road to Russian air strikes.
The group has received 2,000 evacuation requests since Russia invaded last week.
That number includes several hundred Americans and their families, but it also includes foreigners who have no way out.
In Ukraine, it is almost impossible to get to cars, let alone gas. Trains are full and often stop or cancel at the last minute.
The International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that 500,000 people have already fled the country to escape the war, and that hundreds more could go.
The Americans were among those evacuated from Ukraine by Project Dynamo today. The group has already evacuated six buses with people
Some of those waiting to be rescued on Tuesday had to take shelter during an air strike, according to the group’s organizers. They will now drive 18 hours to the Romanian border
The group also accepts requests from non-Americans who need help to escape from a war-torn country.
Once the group reaches the Romanian border, they will have to make their own measures to return to America.
As they drove through Ukraine on Monday, the group observed Ukrainians trying to bolster their homes and businesses with sandbags.
The group now has an 18-hour drive to reach the Romanian border, after which they must find their own way back to the United States – if they want to.
Stern filmed air strike as he and the group left Kyiv earlier this week in one of their six evacuations
Stern with part of the group as they left Ukraine yesterday. He said he could not watch helplessly as Americans needed help in the region
The latest group of American evacuees includes a pastor from Alabama, dogs and cats. In some of the videos, Stern tries to talk about air raid sirens.
Once the groups reach the border, they should try to return to the United States or other European countries.
It is unclear what everyone in the region was doing when the fighting broke out. It is estimated that 23,000 Americans live in Ukraine.
“We are working to save people as quickly as possible and we will have a few more busy buses in the next few hours,” said James Judge, a spokesman for Project DYNAMO.
“Attacks by Russian forces have delayed transport routes and civilians waiting to be rescued had to be sheltered during those attacks.
“We continue to conduct and plan rescue operations between these attacks, while bringing in additional team members to set up reception points in neighboring countries.”
Stern and his group rely on donations that can be made on their website here.
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