Former Miss Connecticut USA helps in Ukraine evacuations, says US is a 'prime example'
Olga Litvinenko was born in Ukraine and lived there as a child
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Miss Connecticut arrived back from her trip in Poland along the Ukraine border after helping facilitate the safe passage of Ukrainian refugees.
Olga Litvinenko, who competed in the 2017 Miss USA Pageant, was born in Ukraine and lived there as a child. She recently worked to get family members safely out of the war-torn country.
The dual citizen told Fox News Digital some family members initially didn't want to leave their home country because "they’ve been there all their lives. For them, it's their home, and everything."
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After she heard explosions in the background during a phone call with a family member, she said the decision became clear.
Olga Litvinenko at a refugee center in Przemysl, Poland, with refugees on a bus ready to go. (Olga Litvinenko)
Litvinenko shared that most of her family members were safe to a "certain extent" aside from the men.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A temporary restriction had been imposed in Ukraine blocking any men between the ages of 18-60 from leaving the country, according to the State Border Guard Service.
A room filled with cots is at a refugee center in Przemysl, Poland. (Olga Litvinenko)
Beyond assisting her family members, Olga has launched an organization to support the safe passage of Ukrainian refugees.
USA for Ukraine has been working to fundraise $250,000 towards medical supplies, gear and supplies for the troops fighting, direct aid to the refugee families and to volunteers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While overseas, she worked with the group to facilitate about 90 refugees, bringing them over to France with a sponsored double-decker bus.
She said USA for Ukraine worked to get the refugees "placed in proper homes with host families that help them with food, with expenses for their first few days until they were able to get the temporary stay."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Litvinenko added that it is a priority to make sure the refugees are treated very well sharing, when entering France "we even got some their first croissants."
Refugees waiting for their belongings after they finally made it to Paris. (Olga Litvinenko)
The group is also assisting a Ukrainian animal shelter that has roughly 3,000 animals, two of which her mom brought with her to Connecticut from Ukraine.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The former beauty queen shared the pageant community has reached out to her in support along with her local community of Greenwich, Connecticut.
Olga Litvinenko at the Miss USA pageant in 2017.
"Everything that is happening in Ukraine really is a reflection of what America already has. We are a democratic society, and we are living in a society that is based on freedom and freedom of rights and freedom of speech. We are a prime example to people who are in Ukraine and people all over the world," she said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden pledged an additional $500 million in aid during a phone conversation wiht Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, the White House confirmed.
"I’m curious to see how [the aid] is going to be dedicated," added Litvinenko.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Last Wednesday, the United Nations reported the number of people who have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded has surpassed 4 million.
"I think that the more people that we bring into this country and the more people that can get educated about how we achieve our success and how we do certain things that they can also educate them, you know, their families and their friends and their communities and a country like Ukraine could be even stronger than what I believe it already was," said Litvinenko.