‘My kids will survive’: Lowell man prays for the safety of his two children in Ukraine as they shelter during Russian invasion

Nearly 4,000 miles away from his 7-year-old daughter Milana and his 5-year-old son Maksim, Sam Hy of Lowell can only pray that his children stay safe as they protect themselves from the Russian invasion in a Kharkiv basement, according to CBS Boston.

Hy told reporters that his children were born in the United States, but have been living in Ukraine with their mother for over the past four years. His family has been moving from basement to basement in Kharkiv as they try to protect themselves from the Russian invasion, Hy said to the news station.

“They don’t deserve this. Very fragile and then I feel helpless,” The Lowell man told reporters. “I pray that they’ll be OK. So far, they are OK.”

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, Feb. 24, at least 136 people, including 13 children, have been killed, the United Nations told CNN reporters.

The Lowell man told CBS reporters that his family escaped the Cambodian genocide In the 1970s, he never thought his children would experience similar war-torn circumstances.

Hy was able to video chat with his children last Friday, they had only a vague idea of the war that surrounds them, according to CBS reporters.

“Just smiling, giving the thumbs up or just eating a cupcake. They have no idea what’s happening outside the walls,” Hy said to the news station.

Hy told NBC Boston that there aren’t any plans to evacuate his children, “I think it would be too risky to even travel with children that young and put them at risk,” the Lowell man said to reporters.

Fearful of what tomorrow has in store for his family overseas, Hy has started a GoFundMe page for his children:

“I am writing a heart cry plea for help to raise emergency funds for my two young children,” Hy wrote. “Today I ask for your help to raise funds for safe place living supplies, such as water, bread, pasta, cereal, first aid kits, heating and electricity equipment, etc. Also to raise funds for emergency evacuation when the time is safer to travel. Help to pay for hiring a safe transporter, any public transportation tickets, border fees, documentation fees, passport fees, immigration specialists fees and more.

The fundraiser has raised nearly $3,000 in three days.

“I feel like they’re going to be OK,” Hy told NBC reporters. “They’re going to survive, they’re going to be OK. Just like how my family survived, my kids will survive.”

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