CLERMONT, Fla. — Three soon-to-be members of a Clermont family are being moved from place to place in Ukraine to keep them safe from ongoing attacks from Russia.
The Andrews family is in the middle of adopting three brothers from the East European country.
Breanna and Aaron Andrews were told all adoptions from the country have been put on hold due to the conflict. Now they’re left worrying not only about the boys’ safety but that their adoption will be delayed.
The couple met 9-year-old Daniil this winter and it didn’t take long for him to fit in.
“He thrived on family events and going out on the weekends,” Aaron said.
Daniil spent a month in their Clermont home as part of a program meant to show orphaned children what it’s like to be part of a family. But the bond between them and their three children was strong.
Photos: Russian forces push toward Kyiv, Ukraine Natali Sevriukova reacts next to her house following a rocket attack the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Photos: Russian forces push toward Kyiv, Ukraine People look at the damage following a rocket attack the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Photos: Russian forces push toward Kyiv, Ukraine A man inspects the damage at a building following a rocket attack on the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Photos: Russian forces push toward Kyiv, Ukraine Firefighters try to extinguish a blaze at a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, early Friday, the second day of Russia's military intervention on February 25, 2022. (Ukraine Emergency Ministry/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Photos: Russian forces push toward Kyiv, Ukraine People take shelter at a building basement while the sirens sound announcing new attacks in the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Photos: Russian forces push toward Kyiv, Ukraine People hide in a bomb shelter in Kyiv in the early hours of February 25, 2022. (SERGEI CHUZAVKOV/AFP via Getty Images)
Photos: Russian forces push toward Kyiv, Ukraine This video still provided Feb. 25, 2022, shows Ukrainian border guards who were serving at Chongar crossing point on the Russian-Ukrainian border and have laid down their arms. (FSB\TASS via Getty Images)
Photos: Russian forces push toward Kyiv, Ukraine A man inspects the damage at a building following a rocket attack on the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Photos: Russian forces push toward Kyiv, Ukraine View of a building damaged following a rocket attack the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Russia attack A damaged car is seen from a hole of a damaged apartment building following a rocket attack on the city of Mariupol, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Russian troops are bearing down on Ukraine's capital, with gunfire and explosions resonating ever closer to the government quarter. The invasion of a democratic country has fueled fears of wider war in Europe and triggered worldwide efforts to make Russia stop. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)
Russia attack People fleeing the conflict from neighboring Ukraine meet with members of their family at the border crossing in Medyka, southeastern Poland, on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. U.N. officials said that 100,000 people were believed to have left their homes and estimated up to 4 million could flee if the fighting escalates. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski) (Czarek Sokolowski/AP)
Russia attack People take photos of still smoldering destroyed Russian military vehicles on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Russian troops bore down on Ukraine's capital Friday, with gunfire and explosions resonating ever closer to the government quarter, in an invasion of a democratic country that has fueled fears of wider war in Europe and triggered worldwide efforts to make Russia stop. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (VADIM GHIRDA/AP)
Russia attack A Ukrainian servicemen opens the door of a deactivated Russian military multiple rocket launcher on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Russian troops bore down on Ukraine's capital Friday, with gunfire and explosions resonating ever closer to the government quarter, in an invasion of a democratic country that has fueled fears of wider war in Europe and triggered worldwide efforts to make Russia stop. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (VADIM GHIRDA/AP)
Russia attack People rest in the Kyiv subway, using it as a shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)
Russia attack People sleep in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. In Ukraine's capital, many residents hurried underground for safety overnight Thursday and Friday as Russian forces fired on the city and moved closer. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) (Emilio Morenatti/AP)
Russia attack A family sit in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. In Ukraine's capital, many residents hurried underground for safety overnight Thursday and Friday as Russian forces fired on the city and moved closer. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) (Emilio Morenatti/AP)
Russia attack A couple stand and embrace during a gathering in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Shocked Russians turned out by the thousands Thursday to decry their country's invasion of Ukraine as emotional calls for protests grew on social media. Some 1,745 people in 54 Russian cities were detained, at least 957 of them in Moscow. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)
Russia attack A man takes a photo of a damaged school building in Horlivka, eastern Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, following Ukrainian shelling in the territory controlled by pro-Russian militants. The Russian military is pressing its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital. The advancement came after Russia unleashed airstrikes on cities and military bases and sent in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov) (Alexei Alexandrov/AP)
Russia attack Two women sweep up broken glass at a school building in Horlivka, following Ukrainian shelling in the territory controlled by pro-Russian militants, eastern Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. The Russian military is pressing its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital. The advancement came after Russia unleashed airstrikes on cities and military bases and sent in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov) (Alexei Alexandrov/AP)
Russia attack People run to take shelter while the sirens sound announcing new attacks in the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) (Emilio Morenatti/AP)
Russia attack Demonstrators shout slogans in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Shocked Russians turned out by the thousands Thursday to decry their country's invasion of Ukraine as emotional calls for protests grew on social media. Some 1,745 people in 54 Russian cities were detained, at least 957 of them in Moscow. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)
“Every day that he was here, he asked us if we would please be his family. He wanted to move to America and he wanted to have a mom and dad,” Breanna said.
They fell in love too and decided to adopt Daniil and his two younger brothers, Artem and Timothy, who they’ve never met. They were expecting to bring the boys home early next year.
But the process hasn’t been easy, and with the Russian invasion, it became more difficult.
“I’m sure he’s scared,” Breanna said. “They were bunkering down in their orphanage.”
The Andrews said at one point, children in their orphanage were taken to a bomb shelter and continue to be moved from place to place.
The said one bright spot is that they recently were able to send a message to Daniil through a friend to tell him, “we’re coming for him and we love him.”
Photos: World monuments lit in solidarity with Ukraine The London Eye is lit up in the colours of the Ukraine flag, in London, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Russia has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending troops and tanks from multiple directions in a move that could rewrite the world's geopolitical landscape. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) (Alberto Pezzali/AP)
Photos: World monuments lit in solidarity with Ukraine CARDIFF, WALES - FEBRUARY 25: A general view of the Welsh Government Building at Cathays Park lit up in the colours of the Ukraine national flag on February 25, 2022 in Cardiff, Wales. Yesterday Russia began a large-scale attack on Ukraine, with Russian troops invading the country from the north, east and south, accompanied by air strikes and shelling. The offensive prompted a wave of sanctions from the U.S. and European governments. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images) (Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
Photos: World monuments lit in solidarity with Ukraine PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 25, 2022: The Eiffel Tower is lit in the Ukrainian national colours. Dmitry Orlov/TASS (Photo by Dmitry Orlov\TASS via Getty Images) (Dmitry Orlov/Dmitry Orlov/TASS)
Photos: World monuments lit in solidarity with Ukraine In the Dutch city of Nijmegen, the iconic Marienburg Chapel in the city center has been put with blue and yellow lights to show their solidarity with the victims of the war in Ukraine and with the Ukrainians living in the Dutch city. On February 25th, 2022. (Photo by Romy Arroyo Fernandez/NurPhoto via Getty Images) (Romy Arroyo Fernandez/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Photos: World monuments lit in solidarity with Ukraine TURIN, ITALY - 2022/02/24: The Mole Antonelliana, major landmark in Turin, is lit up in yellow and blue (colours of the Ukrainian flag) as a sign of solidarity for Ukraine. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images) (Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Photos: World monuments lit in solidarity with Ukraine dpatop - 24 February 2022, Berlin: The Brandenburg Gate is lit up in the colors of Ukraine in the evening during a solidarity demonstration for Ukraine, after the Russian invasion of the country. Photo: Paul Zinken/dpa (Photo by Paul Zinken/picture alliance via Getty Images) (picture alliance/dpa/picture alliance via Getty I)
Photos: World monuments lit in solidarity with Ukraine The facade of 10 Downing Street is lit up with the colors of Ukraine's flag, in London, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to 'consequences you have never seen.' (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) (Alberto Pezzali/AP)
Photos: World monuments lit in solidarity with Ukraine City hall is illuminated with Ukrainian national colors, in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina , Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, as a sign of solidarity with people of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Eldar Emric) (Eldar Emric/AP)
Photos: World monuments lit in solidarity with Ukraine ROME, ITALY - FEBRUARY 24: Colosseum illuminated with the color of Ukrainian flag in solidarity with Ukrainian people after Russia's attack in Ukraine, in Rome, Italy on February 24, 2022. (Photo by Baris Seckin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) (Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The couple said that message was a big moment, because they weren’t allowed to tell Daniil that they planned to adopt him while he was here, so he didn’t know.
The family are looking at the possibility to get a humanitarian visa to possibly get the boys out of Ukraine sooner, but they said it’s all still up in the air.
The Andrews are documenting their adoption journey on Facebook. You can click here for updates.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.
