INDIANAPOLIS — A nonprofit organization in Indianapolis has workers in Ukraine helping those who live there. Thursday, those workers woke up to explosions from the attacks on Ukraine from Russia.
"First of all, it's a shock," Irena Venglovssa said. "We believe to the end that Putin would never do it, that he will do something little, something local, but not this."
Venglovssa serves as director for Mission of Ukraine, a Christian organization that helps children with disabilities and their families.
"So instead of alarms, we woke up because of explosions that happened," Venglovssa said.
In a Zoom interview Thursday, Venglovssa described what the invasion sounded like.
"The explosions were so loud that my car and our car sirens and the yard all went off. So that's how our morning started at 5 o'clock," she said.
Venglovssa added that military bombings took place about 15 miles from where she and her team are located. Many have already evacuated.
"The city is practically empty. Now everybody who has cars are trying to leave, but we already have a shortage of gas," Venglovssa said. "So the gas stations are all flooded with people."
Right now, she said they're hoping for mercy, and that they will still have to continue their mission to help those in the community.
"We have so many families that we serve, and those people are panicking, and those kids are scared," Venglovssa said. "So we've been spending our effort trying to call them and comfort them and talk to them and see what kind of help they need."
Mission to Ukraine has several locations across the United States. The team in Indianapolis set up a GoFundMe to help with emergency funds and supplies to send to the workers and volunteers in Ukraine.