Tom Sanchez, a lawyer from Irving, was in Ukraine as Russia invaded. He escaped from Kyiv, the capital that Russia is striving to overtake, aboard what he called the ‘freedom train.’
In an interview, Sanchez told WFAA the story of the ‘freedom train,’ which successfully delivered its passengers out of Ukraine’s capital.
Sanchez has lived in Irving off and on for the past 20 years. He was a soldier in the 3rd Marine Division in the 1970s for the U.S. Marine Corps and helped in the 1975 evacuation in Vietnam.
Since 2018, he has traveled to Ukraine quite often, attending courses at a school due to a newfound interest he developed in learning the language.
“I go like for two weeks. Learn a little more. Forget some. Go back six months later for another two weeks. It became a hobby,” Sanchez told WFAA.
He flew to Ukraine a couple of weeks ago, and his accommodations kept him in Kyiv most of last week. According to Fox 4 News, Sanchez decided to stay and see how it all would play out, even though friends and family were concerned for his safety.
There were other Americans in the language course with him who decided to stay as well, until tensions escalated between Ukraine and Russian military troops.
The Dallas Express previously reported on February 12 that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a White House briefing that all Americans should immediately leave Ukraine.
This message came after President Joe Biden gave an interview with NBC News on February 10, in which he stated that government officials would not go into Ukraine to rescue U.S. citizens and urged them to leave before war erupted.
When that time came, Sanchez needed to find his own way to flee Kyiv.
Sanchez was laying low until Friday, February 25, when he decided it was best to leave after the fighting was observed nearby and the ground underneath him began to shake.
“The Russians come in at night, I’m assuming. I don’t know how they’re getting in, but they infiltrate at night and cause hell during the day. That’s what they did in Kyiv,” he shared.
To escape to safety, he got on board the ‘freedom train.’ Normally it would take 8 hours to get to Lviv from Kyiv, but the trip took 17 hours, during which all passengers had to stand the whole time, packed tightly together.
The train’s conductor was on a mission to help people get away from the violence. At times, when explosions and gunfire were heard loudly, he would turn off all of the train’s lights to avoid being noticed.
The conductor had to re-route many times to avoid dangerous situations and think quickly about what his next step would be.
Sanchez shared that the passengers on the hot and uncomfortable train “could hear a lot of automatic weapons going off. There were a lot of explosions, and they were coming closer and closer.”
When the train arrived in Lviv, its mission was fulfilled, but Sanchez needed to find shelter. There were no hotel rooms available. An owner of a restaurant offered the loft above his business to Sanchez as safe harbor. According to Sanchez, other restaurants in the area also allowed people to rest inside after closing.
When asked about his thoughts on Russian President Putin’s claims that Ukraine remains a part of Russia, Sanchez responded, “This is a civilized European country. [But] Every lie he tells gets repeated as though it were fact. For example, Ukrainians and Russians are nothing alike. They’re not alike culturally. They’re not alike ethnically.”
Just a little overa year ago Ukraine was being described as one of the most corrupt regimes on earth.
Hunter Biden as well as other DCs swamp dwellers children were riding on the Burisma Whoopi wagon sucking up as much graft as Washington could throw.
The story of the corrupt Ukraine has changed.
THANKS JOE!!!!!