Ex-Miss Ukraine Slams the West While Sharing Story of Kyiv Escape – ‘Bombing Over My Head!’ | World | News

Veronika Didusenko, 26, was awakened on February 25 by air raid sirens and explosions. She immediately embarked on their flight from the country alongside thousands of others. Ms Didusenko attended a press conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

She described how she only had time to collect a few possessions before joining the crowd of women and children desperate to flee the capital.

The beauty queen wore the colors of Ukraine as she said: “Directly above my head, dozens of helicopters with their troops were bombing… as I fled with my young son, I was able to see that there was a real aerial battle over our heads.

Part of their escape involved an arduous road trip to Ukraine’s western border, which was prolonged by massive traffic jams involving thousands of vehicles.

She said: “On my… trip to the Ukraine border, there was no place where the sirens wouldn’t sound, where the rockets and bombs wouldn’t go off.

The awful trip “was awful” and included “so many children and mothers just trying to get to the border”.

Didusenko added: “The Russian military sometimes arrested and shot innocent people trying to escape.”

The couple traveled to Moldova, 250 miles from their home in the Ukrainian capital, then through other European countries to reach Geneva in Switzerland.

Tuesday’s press conference in Los Angeles was hosted by Ms. Didusenko and women’s rights lawyer Gloria Allred.

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Didusenko added: “Ukrainians absolutely have the courage to defend their land and their homes, but to stop the endless attack from the east and north, they desperately need weapons and ammunition. We will fight for our freedom and yours.”

Ms Didusenko echoed the sentiments of Ukrainian officials who have called for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

She said, “Close the skies over Ukraine. People are dying in shelters with no food, no water, no light, no heat. This is a tragedy. This is terrorism.”