Adoptive mom of Ukrainian kids has message for Putin: 'Ukraine is Ukraine! Let them be'
As Russia continues attacking Ukraine, an American mom is desperate to get children to safety and bring them to the U.S.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A mom in Indiana who has been trying to adopt two boys from Ukraine told Fox News Digital she has had a very "difficult week" given the brutal and ongoing assault by Russia on Ukraine — and that she's cried "many tears."
NaTosha Hansome and her husband, Joseph, have seven children, one of whom they adopted from Ukraine 16 months ago. They've also been trying to adopt that child's two best friends, who at this moment remain in Ukraine. Those two boys are brothers.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The boys trapped in Ukraine "are fearful every day," NaTosha Hansome reported.
A woman traveling with others who are fleeing Ukraine looks out of the window of a bus near the border crossing in Korczowa, Poland, on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
As the all-out attack on Ukraine continues, she also had an urgent message for Russian President Vladimir Putin: "Ukraine is not the Soviet Union or Russia. Ukraine is Ukraine! They have fought with heart and bravery."
She added, "Let them be Ukraine!"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}UKRAINE'S ORPHANS ARE TOP OF MIND FOR THIS DAD AND HIS ORGANIZATION
Hansome explained how she recently joined a so-called "mom army" that has been working around-the-clock on key logistics and other details as these families do what they can to try to get vulnerable kids away from danger.
"We have not had any communication … We believe electricity and cell towers are down."
"I was asked to help with the ‘mom army’ because I was close to traveling to Ukraine for our adoption — and getting my boys to safety was a priority," she told Fox News Digital.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ukrainians crowd under a destroyed bridge as they try to flee crossing the Irpin River on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) (Associated Press)
The so-called "mom army" is an unofficial group of adoptive parents, charitable organizations and others who are trying to get adoptive children out of Ukraine during the worst conflict in Europe since World War II.
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Colleen Thompson, another adoptive mom whom Fox News Digital spoke with recently about her own efforts on this front, said the collaborative group of adoptive parents and two Ukraine-focused nonprofit organizations, Legacy Refuge and World Child Hosting, have been hard at work trying to move children out of Ukraine.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}People leave the town of Bucha, close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, March 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Oleksandr Ratushniak)
Once they do that, they try to get them settled safely in a nearby country as best they can — then hope to get them adopted by the families who know them and love them. But nothing about this process right now has been simple or smooth, these families have indicated to Fox News Digital.
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Said NaTosha Hansome about her efforts, "I mainly help update other parents on progress, contact congressmen and organize spreadsheets. Our mission is to help orphans get to safety and meet needs as they arise."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Aleksander, 41, presses his palms against the window as he says goodbye to his daughter Anna, 5, on a train to Lviv at the Kyiv station, Ukraine, on Friday, March 4. 2022. The father has to stay to fight in the war against the Russians while his family leaves the country to seek refuge in a neighboring country. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) (AP)
She said, "I'm asking for help in getting my boys and the other children into safety."
Hansome also noted, "It has been a difficult week with many tears. My boys’ town is Russian-occupied and the bridges and roads are destroyed, so evacuation has not been possible."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She said that recently, "We have not had any communication … We believe electricity and cell towers are down."
She also said, "We have friends from the next town who say the people are nearly out of food."
Ukrainian servicemen carry a baby stroller after crossing the Irpin River on an improvised path under a bridge destroyed by a Russian airstrike, while assisting people fleeing the town of Irpin, Ukraine, on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
The violence and attacks have been ongoing, so it is difficult to know precisely, as of this writing, what the status of the children may be.
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To help her through this difficult time, the mom shared a Bible passage as part of her message.
These children of medical workers are shown warming themselves in a blanket as they await their relatives in a hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Friday, March 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
It reads as follows: "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding, In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3: 5-6).
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The mother also said that she's seen pictures of a "blown-up bridge" in Ukraine as well as "Russian troops [positioned] behind an orphanage."
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In a posting on Facebook on Saturday, March 5, she also shared this: "Please pray. We have so many friends with children that they love in Ukraine. It's just difficult for everyone. Pray God will move the civilians, especially all children, to a safe border. Pray Russia would stop this fight. God help Ukraine!"