Veronika Pavliutina, a 48-year-old single mom from Odessa, fled Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, when the Russian bombing started. Leaving their home and her cooking studio behind, she packed her three children — Polina, Nina and Yegor — into her car, each with a suitcase and a backpack, and headed for the Romanian border.

They had to stop frequently because they could only get 10 liters of gas (a little more than two gallons) at a time because of rationing. Finally, after a six-hour wait in a long line of cars at the Romanian border (“People were crazy,” she said), they were able to cross over and make their way to Bucharest, the nation’s capital. They’d been on the road for 36 hours straight, so they rested up before continuing on to Belgrade, Serbia, where they had friends who provided them with a place to stay for two weeks.

Those Serbian friends connected them with Mt. Airy residents Marissa Vergnetti and her husband, Rich McIlhenny, who were willing to open their home to the Ukrainian family.

So Pavliutina and her children left their car behind with their friends in Belgrade, got on a plane and arrived in the United States. And Vergnetti, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Germantown Friends School, and McIlhenny, a Realtor with RE/MAX Services, shared their five-bedroom Mt. Airy house with the Pavliutina family for six months. Vergnetti’s sister-in-law, Alexis Anselmi, is a Chestnut Hill resident whose parents fled Ukraine in World War II.

Pavliutina eventually bought a home in Perkasie, Bucks County, thanks to a new friend who made a private loan to her, and she made a living giving private cooking lessons.

But now, she and her children — Nina, 15, and Yegor, 12, as well as daughter, Polina, 19, who is currently studying in South Korea ― will be moving to Italy, as the U.S. program that has allowed them to live here is set to expire in October.

Pavliutina doesn’t know anyone there, but feels it will be welcoming. In Italy, Ukrainians who have fled the war can receive a permit that allows them to work and receive healthcare.

“I was drawn to the idea that everyone who contributes their time and effort as immigrants would be welcomed in America, but most Americans now seem to think differently,” Pavliutina told the Local last week.

“... I accept my defeat and my misread. I accept that I am not welcome anymore, and I hope you all stay alert guarding your freedoms, privacy and safety. I love people in America, and I still believe in your people’s greatness, dignity and higher selves, but it’s becoming less safe here.”

McIlhenny’s Facebook page is filled with comments from people who knew the Pavliutina family. Typical is this comment from Celeste Zappala, of Mt. Airy: “What a sorry state we are in. That Veronika should feel unsafe here and move on is a tragedy on many levels.”

McIlhenny told the Local, “We are so incredibly sad to see them leave. They have become like family to us. It’s unfortunate that our country, which has been built and shaped by immigrants, is no longer a safe place that welcomes wonderful people like this family, who would only make it better.”

After arriving in the United States, Pavliutina was able to get tourist visas, which are good for three to six months before they need to be renewed, so McIlhenny drove to Elizabeth, N.J., to pick up the family. When they got to Philadelphia, Polina realized she had left her backpack in the hotel, so they drove back to North Jersey to pick it up.

“There are so many nice people here (in Mt. Airy), I have never experienced anything like this. So many strangers now feel like family. They have given us such a warm welcome. They help us with everything, drive us everywhere,” Pavliutina told the Local at the time.

Their hosts said their guests were always extremely grateful. “The house felt alive again,” said McIlhenny, who grew up in the Boyer Street house and loved having it filled. The couple’s younger son, Daniel, will be starting a master’s program in chemical engineering at the University of Delaware this fall, and their older son, Jesse, will be starting the University of Pennsylvania Law School in the fall.

Countless area residents showed up constantly to help. When the Ukrainian family of four was living in the McIlhenny residence, dinners were dropped off several nights a week on their porch, mostly from Germantown Friends people but also from neighbors and Mt. Airy friends. There were also donations of clothing, furniture, sheets, towels, gift cards and money. “One person even donated a bed,” said McIlhenny, joking that “now, all of a sudden, they had the nicest room in the house.”

“Eight people came here and set everything up for them,” added Vergnetti at the time. “And by the way, Veronika has made great Ukrainian food for us.”

Pavliutina graduated from a technical university in Ukraine as an electrician, but she worked mostly as a computer technician after college. She also spent one and a half years learning English with a private tutor.

Many years ago she came with her then-husband, Andrei, to Madison, N.J., because he got a job with Maersk, a shipping company headquartered in Denmark. The family stayed in New Jersey for two years, but Pavliutina couldn’t work outside the home because immigration law prohibited it.

Then Andrei got a job in Kyiv, so the family was there for a year and a half until moving to Moscow, where they lived together for another two years. Now divorced, Veronika lived in Odessa from 2007 until 2022 while her former husband still lives in Russia.

For more information about helping Ukrainian refugees, visit hfu.org (Hope for Ukraine). Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuhilllocal.com.