'I had to do this': Indiana family helps friends from Ukraine as they flee war

INDIANAPOLIS — A Ukrainian family who made the difficult decision to flee is staying here in Indianapolis with lifelong friends.

“It’s beyond words. The gratitude and our love to them is beyond any words,” Olga Skrypak said. “With all the bombing when it all started and going to the bomb shelter several times a day it was really complicated with four children."

Skrypak and her family made a decision to flee Ukraine in hopes of getting to the US. Olga's husband, a pastor, stayed behind to help those in need.

“We grabbed what little we had and some money and documents and left,” Skrypak said.

From there, they made their way from Ukraine to Poland to Warsaw, from Warsaw it was a non-stop flight to Florida. That's where a friend Skrypak has known for more than 20 years was waiting with open arms.

“I met Olga when she was 18-years-old. I was a missionary and we went there to plant churches,” Becky Gluff said.

Gluff will tell you her and Skrypak are kindred spirits — so it was a no-brainer for Gluff and her husband, Randy, to take the Skrypaks in at their home in central Indiana.

“She called me one morning and you could hear the bombs going off and the rifles shooting and it was awful,” Gluff added.

It's a lifelong friendship now living under the same roof.

“Oh I had to do this, there is no question, Olga is like my daughter but she is not quite to be my daughter, she’s like my niece,” Gluff said.

A GoFundMe has been created to help the Skrypaks.