MANDAN, N.D. (KFGO) – A man who split his time between the U.S. and Ukraine, helping arrange adoptions of children with special and medical needs, has died amid the fighting in the war-torn country.
Serge Zevlever was shot and killed by Russian soldiers when he volunteered to check on a commotion outside a Kyiv bomb shelter on February 26. He is believed to be among the first American casualties of the war.
Zevlever and his team facilitated adoptions of Ukrainian children into at least six families in North Dakota.
Mandan’s Natalie Maxwell, who along with her husband Ryan has adopted three Ukrainian children with Zevlever’s help, says her family is forever grateful for the dedication and love Zevlever brought to the process.
“As a young couple it was scary enough to be far from home in a foreign country where we didn’t know the language, but add into that all the emotions and fears that come with trying to adopt an older child with a disability,” Maxwell explained.
“So many of our fears and anxieties were calmed when we met Serge. His presence filled a room, his passion for orphans was unmatched, and you just knew that if he was on your side everything was going to be okay,” she said.
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