Pregnant Woman Survives Harrowing Journey From Ukraine to the U.S., Prepares to Give Birth in NYC

For many Ukrainians, February 24 will live long in the memory. This was the date that Russia launched their invasion of Ukraine and changed their lives forever. Olesya Ostafieva talked to CNN about her escape, from spending time in a bomb shelter to traveling to neighboring Poland and now preparing to give birth in New York City in the United States.

Ostafieva was having the time of her life on February 23 after friends and family threw her a surprise baby shower in the capital city of Kyiv. They decorated Ostafieva's 25^th-floor apartment with heart-shaped white and pink balloons to celebrate the soon-to-be mother.

What Ostafieva and her guests did not know at that time was that their lives were about to change for the worse just hours later. At around 5 a.m. on February 24, Russia started its military offensive in Ukraine.

Ostafieva decides to leave after maternity hospital bombed

Ostafieva quickly knew something was not right as she heard a loud explosion from her apartment. She went to the room of her sister, who was visiting for the baby shower, and asked about the noise. Ostafieva's sister told her it was bombs, an answer that shook her to the core. Panic set in for Ostafieva, who was nearly nine months pregnant.

At first, Ostafieva thought the invasion would be over quickly and that their lives would immediately return back to normal. Ostafieva planned to stay in her Kyiv apartment and was getting ready for baby Kyra's arrival. Ostafieva said she already had a contract with the best maternity hospital in Kyiv for her impending birth.

That was all a dream, though, for Ostafieva as the shelling and the bombing continued across Ukraine. To make matters worse for her, the maternity hospital that was supposed to take care of her was bombed by Russian forces.

With the fighting showing no signs of stopping, Ostafieva decided to escape to Poland alongside her sister and her dog Casper. The sisters drove in bumper-to-bumper traffic for about 10 hours a day for four days to get to the Polish border. With Ostafieva leaving everything she had purchased for baby Kyra behind in Kyiv, she had to resort to buying used baby clothes in Western Ukraine during their four-day trip.

Ostafieva vows to return to Ukraine with baby Kyra

Ostafieva's journey did not end in Poland as her friend, Anna Arima, convinced her to make a visit to New York and deliver her child there. Armed with a valid visa from her previous visit to the United States, Ostafieva decided to meet up with her friend. She brought along the clothes she bought in Ukraine as a remembrance for the war and the stress that she endured in her country.

Ostafieva knows she is among the lucky ones who managed to escape Ukraine and will give birth in a safe place. There are many pregnant mothers stuck back home who have to navigate the war engulfing Ukraine. Once Ostafieva gives birth to baby Kyra, she plans to return to Poland to reunite with her dog and sister and eventually raise her child in Ukraine, the place she calls home.