NAPA, Calif. (KRON) — A Napa man and his girlfriend evacuating from Ukraine should be arriving at the Polish border around now.
That is according to his mother who has been keeping in touch with him from their home here in the Bay Area.
How long has the Bay Area resident in Ukraine been on the road?
“They’ve been on the road since basically the attack started. I forget exactly what hour that was,” said Debbie Alter-Starr who is the mother of the Napa man evacuating Ukraine.
Cellphone video shows people evacuating on foot from Ukraine during day one of the Russian invasion. The video was recorded by Aaron Starr, the 26-year-old Napa resident in Ukraine with his Ukrainian girlfriend.
Alter-Starr says she’s been in contact with her son.
“I actually did talk to him about an hour ago, because I was trying to figure out how to be the most supportive to him,” she said.
Alter-Starr made her remarks around the time President Joe Biden made his first address to the nation announcing the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
She says during her recent conversation with her son, he made it a point to talk about the people in the video.
“People walking with just a backpack,” Alter-Starr said. “Lines of people walking while he is sitting in this car driving to safety. (My son) is not at safety yet. He is not over the Polish border, but I am proud of him for focusing on other people and drawing our attention to what really matters – which is drawing our attention to this humanitarian crisis.
“I think it is really important not to let the threat dominate your life.”
These are thoughts Aaron Starr shared during this Inside Edition interview earlier this week.
Alter-Starr has hopes her son will be alright.
“Well, I am obviously, you know, really counting the minutes until they cross the border,” Alter-Starr said. “His girlfriend’s sister lives there. I know that will be a solace to her because she had to leave family and friends. That they take care of themselves. That they do what they need to.”