"Nobody has come to help them": New Jersey brothers preparing to travel to Ukraine in hopes of rescuing family members
NEWARK, N.J. -- Two men from New Jersey say their relatives in Ukraine are running out of supplies while staying sheltered from the constant reminders of war.
CBS2's Cory James spoke to two New Jersey brothers whose aunt is trying to stay safe.
"Where is she right now in her home?" James asked.
"In the bathtub," Mike Lisitsa said.
"She's hiding in the bathtub?" James asked.
"Yes," Lisitsa said.
A dark photo captured a dark time in history -- a woman in Ukraine hiding in her bathtub as war unravels outside her home.
"She said today is the worst night," Lisitsa said.
Lisitsa and his brother, Gene, translated, sharing the violence their loved one told them is erupting.
"Every time they fall asleep for 15 minutes, they get woken up by a bomb or by a siren," Lisitsa said.
While chatting with their aunt, the Lisitsa brothers' father walked into the living room with his phone. On the other end was another aunt, calling while taking shelter with their 85-year-old grandmother.
"She said they've been hearing blasts all day and they've barricaded their windows," Gene Lisitsa said.
As they processed the unimaginable fear, a third call came in with an update about their pregnant niece, who escaped to another city hours earlier.
"She got there safe and she is just still not sleeping because she is worried about her mom," Mike Lisitsa said.
Now both brothers are preparing to travel to Ukraine, hoping to rescue their family because they tell us time is ticking with more violence unfolding.
"Nobody has come to help them. There's nobody there, and it's the middle of the winter," Gene Lisitsa said. "I'm not going to let my grandmother sit in a bathtub ... where war is going on. I will attempt to protect her."
Both brothers are flying to Ukraine from Newark Airport on Wednesday. Elected officials are also working to help bring their loved ones home.
