Crisis in Ukraine puts Iowa family’s adoption plan on hold

HIAWATHA, Iowa (WOI) - A Hiawatha family’s plan to adopt a 15-year-old from Ukraine has been put on hold after Russia attacked the country.

Jenna and Scott Breckenridge adopted three sons from Ukraine, who arrived just months ago, and they’re in the process of adopting a 15-year-old boy named Artem.

They were in the middle of the adoption process when Russia’s invasion began.

Artem had been living in an orphanage in Ukraine. He and the other kids at the orphanage have moved to a bomb shelter.

“At 5 a.m., he saw and heard rockets. Said the windows were shaking and there was a big flash. He said in Berdyansk, the airport was bombed,” Jenna said. “So that’s the city he’s in right now.”

Jenna and Scott say Artem’s case is time-sensitive. Once he turns 16 this year, he’ll age out of the system. That means he’d essentially be on his own if the adoption doesn’t go through.

Jenna said they have received heartbreaking texts from Artem, begging them to come take him away as quickly as possible.

The Breckenridges want people to remember the people, especially the children, caught in the middle of the crisis.