Civilian group who evacuated Americans from Afghanistan embarks on mission to Ukraine

The group responsible for evacuating Americans in Afghanistan last year has taken up the call to help Americans get out of Ukraine, following the launch of an invasion Thursday by Russian forces into the country.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Project Dynamo is the same private outfit that helped Americans flee Afghanistan, and with the situation in Ukraine they’ve revealed they’re back in business.

"The group said it had begun sending people to Ukraine in January and aimed to evacuate an initial group of nearly two dozen Americans and residents. The group says its personnel include current and former members of the U.S. military and other government agencies."

In an interview with Patch.com, Bryan Stern said he and a colleague took "missile fire at least twice" near their hotel in Kyiv.

"We had people waiting at the rally point, but we also picked up people along the way who are desperate to get out of the country. People on the street came to us and asked for help. They’re alive because of us. There’s no greater calling than that," Dynamo co-founder Bryan Stern said.

Another report from NBC News confirms that Project Dynamo has succeeded in getting at least 23 evacuees out of the country in the early morning hours on Thursday.

"They are currently traversing the Ukrainian countryside and trying to make their way to an American embassy in a neighboring country. The evacuation began minutes after our team on the ground physically felt the nearby explosions in Kyiv last night," said Project Dynamo spokesperson James Judge.

Earlier in February, the Biden administration publicly warned Americans to leave Ukraine. But alongside that message that made it clear that they couldn’t send military troops to the country to assist in the matter. It was during these earlier calls that the White House evacuated the embassy from Kyiv.

A dispatch from the AFP estimated 100,000 people displaced in Ukraine, with thousands fleeing "abroad." A Reuters report from earlier on Thursday suggests that Germany is assisting Poland when it comes to accepting Ukrainian evacuees.

According to CNN, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the US would assist European countries when it came to handling the influx of Ukrainian refugees.