Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their country since the start of the Russian war almost five months ago.
Some of those refugees have been coming to Massachusetts and Friday morning, a group of them were in Lowell looking for help.
Anna Prky and members of her family escaped Russia’s war in Ukraine right after it started.
Ilya Kriveshko worked to bring his cousin and her family to Massachusetts. They are glad to be here and safe, but worry about family members still fighting to defend Ukraine, and hope to be able to return one day.
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"The day that the program started we made an application and it was actually processed surprisingly quickly, and approvals came quickly," Kriveshko said.
"They traveled to Poland to Warsaw within maybe a day or two after the bombs started falling in Kiev," he continued.
They’re now living in Massachusetts, trying to find their way in a new country while keeping an eye on news reports at home.
"Strong hope that we are...we will fight with the help of new weapons. We will win," Prky said.
"It takes an extraordinary, extraordinary amount of courage to leave your home behind," Congresswoman Lori Trahan.
Trahan, D-MA 3rd District, hosted a number of Ukrainian families at her Congressional office in Lowell, offering up experts for refugees trying to access and understand the resources available to them.
"They want nothing more than to go back to their lives. Their families and their loved ones. So anything we can do to make that transition easier we’re going to do," she said.
In March, the White House opened the doors to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and so far about three-quarters of that quota has been filled. But more people are expected to be allowed into this country as the conflict continues.
