A Canadian newborn baby has been rescued from the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv, safely uniting the young child with his parents. Aari, born via a Ukrainian surrogate, was recovered from a clinic on Friday, March 18, by team members of Project Dynamo, a U.S. non-profit rescue organization.
The operation was risky, with Russian forces continuing their military onslaught inside Ukraine. Aari's Canadian parents, who flew from Canada to Poland, waited anxiously as the team carried out the rescue mission. Project Dynamo managed to complete the mission, transporting the baby to meet his Canadian father and mother in a Ukrainian city near the border with Poland.
On Saturday, Bryan Stern, the co-founder of Project Dynamo, issued a statement to Global News, saying, "We're deeply grateful to the Canadian embassy for the overwhelming support they provided before and throughout this." Stern added that their help was truly imperative, and the rescue mission would have been far more difficult without their support.
Gemini 3 mission, a huge success for Project Dynamo
Global Affairs Canada admitted on Saturday that the agency is aware of reports of a Canadian baby being transported from Kyiv in Ukraine. Spokesperson James Emmanuel Wanki said that consular officials are in contact with the family and are providing assistance, but they could not disclose more details about the operation due to privacy concerns.
The great news was finally confirmed over the weekend with the Canadian parents and their newborn baby now safely in Polish territory. According to a statement by Project Dynamo, the mission to rescue baby Aari took place from Thursday to Friday.
The mission, named Gemini 3, is the second successful operation conducted by Project Dynamo to rescue babies from Ukraine specifically. According to a report by NPR, Gemini 1 and Gemini 2 were conducted simultaneously by the non-profit rescue organization earlier this month, with Project Dynamo using an ambulance to transport twin American premature babies and a British preemie baby.
The team that rescued baby Aari consisted of a neonatal specialist, a medical doctor, Dynamo staff members, and Ukrainian partners. Project Dynamo has performed 20 missions thus far, rescuing at least 215 men, women, and children.
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Project Dynamo inundated with requests for evacuation in Ukraine
Since Russian troops launched their military offensive in Ukraine, Project Dynamo has received more than 14,000 requests for evacuation from citizens and residents of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, France, Romania, Ukraine, Nigeria, Mexico, Israel, Afghanistan, and other European nations.
Project Dynamo laid the groundwork for these types of operations in mid-January, with the group inserting team members into Ukraine to begin planning for potential rescue missions of Americans after the U.S. government made it clear that they would not rescue American citizens stuck in the region once the conflict starts.
According to ABC Action News, Project Dynamo's planning and coordination went into overdrive after the U.S. State Department evacuated the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and their diplomatic personnel in February.
