Report: More than 45K have Signed Up to Sponsor Ukrainian Refugees in US; Some Ukrainian Refugees Find New Homes in Maine with Help from a Fellow Expat

AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File

More than 45K have signed up to sponsor Ukrainian refugees in US: report

More than 45,000 Americans have applied to sponsor Ukrainian refugees since the U.S. launched its Uniting for Ukraine program in late April, according to a new CBS News report.

6,500 Ukrainians already have arrived under the program and 27,000 have been selected and approved to travel to the U.S., according to data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) obtained by the news organization.

DHS confirmed the report in a response to The Hill.

This week marks 100 days since Russia invaded Ukraine. It’s unclear how many casualties the war has claimed.

The Biden administration announced in April that the U.S. was planning to welcome 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression.

It ultimately could become the largest official private sponsorship program for refugees in the U.S. in decades, according to CBS News. --->READ MORE HERE

Esta Pratt-Kielley/Maine Public

Some Ukrainian refugees find new homes in Maine with help from a fellow expat:

On a warm spring afternoon, Halyna and Petro Terzi stepped into their new apartment in Auburn, Maine, for the first time. A small group of fellow Ukrainians was there to greet them.

Carrying blue and yellow balloons and a bouquet of flowers wrapped in plastic, the couple walked into their sunny bedroom overlooking the back yard. They'll be sharing this apartment with another Ukrainian family who arrived several weeks ago.

With a tired-looking smile on his face, Petro lowered himself into a soft armchair next to the bed and let out a deep sigh. His daughter, Alina Terzi, who's lived in Maine for several years, set down some of her parents' luggage.

"They are so happy they're like 'Praise the Lord we are — we've arrived,' " she said, translating her father's comments in Russian.

The Terzis are from Odessa. They fled their home in late February, several days into the Russian invasion. They went first to Moldova, then to Poland. There, volunteers with the Seventh Day Adventist church connected them with a family in Warsaw, who hosted them while the couple waited for the U.S. embassy to process their visa applications. --->READ MORE HERE

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