American twin boys who were born prematurely in Ukraine just after Russia began its invasion of the country, have been safely evacuated following a daring 14-hour mission.
Lenny and Moishe, who were born via a surrogate in Kyiv, were transferred to a NICU in Poland on Monday after being saved in a mission dubbed "Operation Gemini," according to NPR.
The twins were born 10 days premature on February 25, the day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an attack on Ukraine.
The boys' parents, Alex Spektor and partner Irma Nuñez, saw the violence unfold from their home in Chicago and knew they had to act quickly to get the twins and their surrogate out of the war zone.
It took several days, but the couple finally connected with Florida-based nonprofit Project Dynamo, a group of Army and Navy veterans who help people trying to escape war zones. Led by Bryan Stern, Operation Gemini included a team of doctors and neonatal specialists to care for the babies along their treacherous journey.
The team partnered with a Ukrainian ambulance crew to drive a three-vehicle convoy through Kyiv to get the twins from the hospital and travel across the border into Poland, dodging traffic and checkpoints along the way, ABC News reported. They also had to dodge the dangers of war -- Stern said at times, explosions were close enough to make the ground shake.
Roughly 14 hours later, the team made it to the Polish border, where Spektor was waiting to meet his sons for the very first time.
"The war didn't want to let them go. But we got them out," Spektor, who is originally from Kyiv, told NPR.
The journey wasn't over just yet, though. The team still had an hour to travel, through an unseasonal snowstorm, to reach the hospital. Nurses were waiting on hand when the convoy pulled up and rushed out to grab the twins.
The babies continue to be cared for by hospital staff in Poland. Once they've gained enough strength, the twins will return back home to Chicago.
Stern told ABC it was the group's first time rescuing premature babies.
"I really can't articulate in words the anxiety that I had for for about three, four days culminating with pulling into the hospital of Poland," said Stern. He added that the rescue "was pretty amazing."
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