One family's escape from Mariupol to Mexico to Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A family who escaped war-torn Ukraine is now trying to make a new life in Minnesota, as Russia's attacks on their home country continue.

Anya Kulish and her 17-year-old son Oleh Markov have lost everything: from their home, to their livelihood and loved ones.

After receiving a humanitarian parole in the United States, they are staying with family in Plymouth; but for weeks during the war in Ukraine, they were cut off from the rest of the world.

"Our family did not believe to the very last day that this could happen," said Kulish, as translated by point. "It was unexpected, it was terrifying."

Now, all Kulish and Markov have are a few clothes and essential documents. The rest of their lives were lost in the chaos of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as bombs fell from planes and tanks blew their city apart.

Anya Kulish (right) and her 17-year-old son Oleh Markov (left) were able to get to the U.S. with help from her niece Anya Point (center). (FOX 9)

"Mariupol specifically is completely demolished. Ukraine is in a lot of pain, there are children who are dying," Point translated. "The city is completely destroyed."

At a family home in Plymouth on Monday, Point explained how she’s taken in her aunt and cousin. They escaped from Ukraine on Mar. 25, and arrived in the Twin Cities on Mar. 31.

But first, for two weeks, they were stranded with about 50 other people in a Mariupol bomb shelter. "[We] got a very limited amount of sleep because of how frequent attacks were happening," added Markov.

Crammed into the shelter, without electricity and with very little food or water, they found a way to survive, "They had to melt snow in certain situations to have access to water," Point translated.

Then, when the opportunity arose, they jumped on it, taking off on an exhausting journey across the globe.

"They traveled from Poland to Paris, France, to Madrid, Spain, and then to Mexico City," Point said.

Now, their focus is on getting their grandmother out of Ukraine. The family says the 80-year-old is in poor health with a weakened heart, as she recovers from a bout of COVID-19.

"We’re very much concerned," Point finished. 

Meanwhile, they’ve launched this GoFundMe fundraiser to help in their efforts.