TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa-based nonprofit, Project DYNAMO, is continuing to rescue people, including Americans, from Ukraine.
The nonprofit has successfully rescued two buses of evacuees out of Ukraine since the Russian invasion began last week.
Bryan Stern, the cofounder of Project DYNAMO, said it has been the most challenging work.
"It's an active war zone. I’m a combat vet. I've spent a lot of time in active war zones and this is definitely one of them," said Bryan Stern.
Stern said they hope to rescue 60 to 80 more people in the next 24 hours. He does not leave any empty seats on the bus.
"What’s terrible about doing evacuations is you have to make really, really, really hard, terrible choices every single day. I’ve had to make people rip apart their own families," he said.
"In Ukraine right now if you're a military-age male, 16 to 30, and you're Ukrainian you can't leave the country," he added.
Since Thursday, about 2,000 people have requested evacuations from Ukraine through the nonprofit. This includes American citizens, lawful permanent residents of the United States, and people from France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Nigeria, Poland, Romania and Afghanistan.
Stern said people may request help from evacuating by visiting the nonprofit's website. They also rely on donations to complete these rescue missions.
"Every penny goes to a rescue mission. It's really that easy," he said.
"It's the best work I’ve ever done, but it’s also the hardest work, I’ve ever done," he added.
For more information on Project DYNAMO, visit projectdynamo.org.
