KYIV, Ukraine — The same Tampa-based nonprofit that made headlines for helping evacuate people from Afghanistan began its first rescue operation of American citizens Thursday in Ukraine.
For weeks, Project DYNAMO has been laying the groundwork for worst-case scenarios. And, minutes after Russia invaded the country, the organization kicked its plans into motion.
As military forces backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin began carrying out strikes Wednesday night on the capital city of Kyiv, the Floridians at Project DYNAMO were beginning to help Americans safely escape Ukraine.
“Right now, our team is working to get the first group of nearly two dozen American citizens and residents out of Ukraine," James Judge, a spokesman for Project DYNAMO, wrote in a statement. "They are currently traversing the Ukrainian countryside and trying to make their way to an American embassy in a neighboring country. The evacuation began minutes after our team on the ground physically felt the nearby explosions in Kyiv last night.”
In the last 24 hours, Project DYNAMO — which was founded by combat veterans — has been flooded with requests to help get people out of Ukraine. The team is filtering through applications from Americans desperate to get out, Judge said.
Anybody who needs help or wants to support the nonprofit's efforts can learn more by clicking here.
Since January, Project DYNAMO has been carefully planning for the inevitable. Earlier this month, President Joe Biden urged Americans to get out of Ukraine before an invasion. But, not everyone has been able to do so. And, the State Department has previously said it would not be able to help with evacuations of American citizens once the Russians entered the country.
"Project DYNAMO began inserting team members into Ukraine to begin planning for rescue operations of Americans after the Biden administration made it clear that the U.S. government would not be coming to help American citizens stuck in the region," the organization wrote in a statement.
Project DYNAMO's efforts ramped up even further last week when the U.S. State Department evacuated diplomats and abandoned the Embassy in Kyiv.
“This is what DYNAMO does and does better than anyone else,” Judge wrote. “They get Americans out of harm’s way, and we have been watching it play out today in real-time. It is not without risk, however, and we are praying they will successfully make it safely out of the country in the next few hours.”
Project DYNAMO is made up of volunteers, many of whom have military backgrounds. Collectively, they have years of experience in special operations and intelligence-gathering.
“It’s highly important to note, that besides our courageous volunteers, none of this would be possible without the financial sacrifices made by our very generous donors,” wrote the project's co-founder Bryan Stern. “So, take this as a battle cry - we need continued help to keep funding these rescue efforts.”
To learn more about donation opportunities, click here.