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Family fleeing war torn Ukraine arrives in Dayton; Local detective, community show support

DAYTON — Today a Ukrainian family arrived in the Miami Valley, which will become their new home.

The family landed at Dayton International Airport after 30 hours of traveling.

They lost almost everything in the war in Ukraine, but Tuesday night they had everything they needed to feel right at home thanks to the generosity of a local friend.

Detective Rod Roberts with the Dayton Police Department shared his connection with the family.

“In 2015, myself and four other Dayton police instructors went to Kyiv, Ukraine to train Ukrainian police officers during their police reform,” Roberts said.

>> Dayton detective, Miami Valley generosity helps family from Ukraine move to area

Roberts and Ukrainian officer Andrii Levdokymenko quickly became friends.

After Roberts returned to Dayton, the two stayed in touch over social media.

“Once the war really broke off, we have contact with a lot of these guys ... but things were bad,” Roberts said.

The family escaped to Poland for safety.

“Once they got to Poland, they found that they really weren’t wanted there. They were treated pretty poorly,” Roberts explained.

So they decided to move to the United States.

“He said, ‘do you think you can help me find an apartment if we came to the U.S.?’” Roberts said.

>> Live Updates: Russia-Ukraine War

But Roberts wanted to do more than just that.

“I made a post of social media on my Facebook page and within 40 minutes, everything you see here, minus a few things of furnishings were committed from friends, family, strangers, everything,” he said.

The community did the rest to make sure the family would be set, including a stocked fridge and pantry.

There is also several thousand dollars left over from cash donations that will go toward buying the family a car and other expense.

Roberts set up a fund at the Firefighters and Company Federal Credit Union at 338 South Patterson Boulevard under “Alisa and Andrii – Ukrainian Family Fund.”

Roberts said the family is in the process of getting work visas.




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