Missionary Priest In Ukraine Has Ties To Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- An American who says he has ties to Baltimore is in Ukraine helping people flee to Poland.
Taras Petro says he has ties to Baltimore and works as a missionary priest in Ukraine.
He reached out to WJZ Saturday saying he is stuck in the country as Russia wages a war against it. He has been there about a month as he recovers from COVID-19.
"I was supposed to leave earlier but I got COVID and then I had pneumonia," he said.
On Thursday, Petro woke up to the sound of an explosion.
Since then, his life has not been the same. Petro said he moved to Lviv where he has been helping people—mostly men—escape to the Poland border.
"I bring mostly the men that are turned back because they're not allowed to leave," he said.
Petro expressed concern about the future.
"This is not just a Ukrainian issue," he said. "This is beginning to become a European issue and a world issue because everybody will be affected because if he continues to move in further, there will be more refugees."
Petro doesn't know when he will be able to leave Ukraine. As long as he is there though, he will continue to help people get to the border.