"I feel guilty for leaving": Ukrainian teen who safely escaped to Westchester County trying to help others fleeing the war
WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- The United Nations says more than 2 million Ukrainians have fled the war in their homeland, but only a handful have made it to the United States.
CBS2's Tony Aiello spoke with a Ukrainian teen who left just as the war started and made it safely to Westchester County.
She's grateful to be in Westchester, safe and sound with her uncle, Alex Miadelets, but 17-year-old Sasha, who asked that we not reveal her last name, struggles thinking about those she left in Ukraine.
"I feel guilty for leaving. I feel guilty that I'm not with my friends right now, that they have to go through this, and I don't know how to get rid of that feeling," she said.
Sasha left Kyiv just as the war started, the morning of Feb. 24.
"I got up, I started packing, and then I heard an explosion. It was on the other side of the city, but I could feel it anyway," she said.
She joined hundreds of thousands trying to reach the border with Poland, walking the final 10 miles past abandoned suitcases.
"I can't really complain. I'm in a safe place," Sasha said.
Her parents were on vacation in Costa Rica, and they've joined her at her uncle's Westchester home.
"Do you see them struggling with what they're feeling?" Aiello asked.
"There's moments of panic, there's moments of just despair, and then there's moments of just anxiety. Yeah. Of course," Miadelets said.
They all constantly check the headlines.
"The reason Putin will lose is because not only Ukraine is standing up but because the rest of the world is standing up," Miadelets said.
Sasha is working remotely to help others fleeing the war.
"We're trying to connect the right people so they can help evacuate those in need," she said. "We're also trying to send helmets from here to Ukraine for our soldiers."
"What do you hear from your friends and family in Ukraine?" Aiello asked.
"They are very tired of hearing the sounds of bombings and the sirens all the time ... Innocent people are dying every day," Sasha said. "It's very traumatizing, but at the same time, I hope it can make us even stronger as a nation."
She's anxious for the day she can use her passport to return home.
