LONGVIEW, Texas — In the midst of chaos, Ukrainian Vasyl Stefurak said there’s no time to be afraid.
"That's the situation that you become scared after. The second day of war was the most horrific," Stefurak remembered.
A Ukrainian missile stuck down a Russian jet right above his home.
Spiraling out of the sky, it crashed one mile from his front door.
His family decided it was too dangerous to stay in Kyiv so they headed west to Ternopil.
Stefurak said, “At some point on the road, a Russian fighter approached us pretty low - probably to 300 meters above our heads. But, he ignored us completely, probably because he had another mission."
The car ride that normally takes him five to six hours took two days.
His family moved beside countless other families trying to escape the blows. More than two million people have evacuated Ukraine since the war began.
East Texans like Brad Bunt ,a member of East Texas Friends of Ukraine, are gathering resources to donate to Ukrainians like his dear friend Stefurak who said he’s safe and not leaving until this war is over.
"It's just very heart wrenching to know that these people are enduring this type of constant bombardment," Bunt said.
Stefurak said this is also the first war in his life.
"That's like a nightmare for me. I still can't realize completely that this is happening to me,” Stefurak said.
East Texas Friends of Ukraine is an organization that’s raised more than $30,000 to help an ally country under fire.
To assist the organization, address your donation to East Texas Friends of Ukraine. PO Box 572 Longview, Texas 75660.
Bunt is also the Texas coordinator of the U.S. Ukraine Foundation. Formed about 30 years ago, he works to bring Ukrainian mayors, communal service workers, law and education systems together to teach them about democracy.