TAMPA, FL. – An American retired service-disabled U.S. Army veteran-former 82nd Airborne Division Infantryman and his wife were rescued from behind enemy lines Saturday in Ukraine by team members from the American non-profit rescue organization named Project DYNAMO.
For the past week, team members from Project DYNAMO have worked to try to get Sgt. 1st Class Robert “Bob” Platt (retired), a former Paratrooper and his wife to safety after the American veteran found himself in the Russian offensive corridor and surrounded at his home outside Kyiv, Ukraine, as Russian forces continued attacks on the Ukrainian front line to seize the capitol.
Platt, a veteran of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division who served in Operation Just Cause and Operation Desert Storm, and his wife were surrounded by Russians. According to Platt, he and his wife had to shelter in place as Russian forces looted their neighbors’ surrounding homes while their neighborhood was being mercilessly shelled by artillery with Russian tank battalions blocking their roads.
Project DYNAMO team members had attempted to rescue Platt earlier in the week on Thursday, and had made it within eight kilometers of Platt’s location, but were forced to abort the rescue operation when the team came under artillery fire and narrowly escaped without serious injury.
“Having been on the receiving end of Russian artillery, it puts in painful perspective what the Platt family and their neighbors have been enduring over the last several weeks as Russian troops were literally in their backyard,” said Bryan Stern, co-founder of Project DYNAMO. “But, we never lose sight of our number one priority, which is to never leave Americans behind, especially a fellow combat-veteran. So we pressed on, devised a new plan, and found a window of opportunity. I am proud to say we were finally able to rescue Platt from Russian-occupied territory and transported him to safety in Poland on Saturday evening.”
At approximately 6 p.m. Eastern time, Platt and his wife crossed the Polish border with members of Project DYNAMO.
As of Sunday, Project DYNAMO has rescued more than 215 people from Ukraine.
Since Russian forces invaded Ukraine, Project DYNAMO has received more than 14,000 requests for evacuation from American, British, Canadian, French, Romanian, Ukrainian, Nigerian, Mexican, Israeli, and Afghan citizens and residents, as well as citizens and residents from other European nations, many of whom include children and the elderly and members of the Jewish community in Ukraine.
Anyone in need of evacuation is urged to register at projectdynamo.org and register for the U.S. State Department’s STEP program.
In mid-January, Project DYNAMO began inserting team members into Ukraine to begin planning and setting conditions for potential rescue operations of Americans after the U.S. government made it clear that the U.S. government would not rescue American citizens stuck in the region.
Planning and coordination for a DYNAMO-led American rescue operation in Ukraine intensified after the U.S. State Department evacuated diplomatic personnel and evacuated the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv in February.
Those interested in donating or learning more about Project DYNAMO can do so by visiting www.projectdynamo.org.
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