Roughly a 1,000 people showed up at the Utah State Capitol Monday night for a rally supporting Ukraine. Many people dressed in yellow and blue to show their support for Ukraine. Photo credit: Kevin LaRue, KSL
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah couple had a frantic journey to get out of Ukraine.
Ryan and Anatasia told Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News on KSL NewsRadio on Monday that they were in Ukraine just days ago, and barely made it out of the country. They were among roughly 1,000 people who attended a Ukraine rally at the Utah State Capitol Monday night.
“My father called me at 4 in the morning and said ‘Ryan, the airport’s going to close, get out immediately,'” Ryan, a native of Bountiful, said.
Ryan and Anatasia, who have only been married for two years, met in Ukraine. Anatasia is originally from Ukraine.
The Utah couple says they were able to get out of the country through Poland. However, it was far from easy.
“We got to within 12 miles of the border,” Ryan said. “And that’s as close as you could get.”
“You got to get out and walk,” Ryan said.
Ryan said they walked a few miles and were able to find a bus that got them to the border. However, Anatasia says they had to wait in line for 10 hours to be able to cross over the border.
He said they had been told U.S. soldiers would be at the border to help them get across. However, that was not the case.
The Utah couple was asked if they were concerned about being able to get out of the country.
“That’s the only way we could,” Ryan said. “Split of the moment, don’t think about it, do it. We have family that has been there for three days in the line trying to get out.”
Anatasia has family who still lives in Ukraine, and she has made efforts to get them out.
“I tried my best to get my family over (here),” she said. “There is bombing and shooting all over where they live.”
Still, Anatasia was grateful for the support shown to her Monday night.
“God bless America and Ukraine,” she said.
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