The twins (Lenny on the left, Moishe on the right) are currently enjoying life in Chicago.
Alex Spektor and Irma Nuñez
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Alex Spektor and Irma Nuñez
The twins (Lenny on the left, Moishe on the right) are currently enjoying life in Chicago.
Alex Spektor and Irma Nuñez
Welcome to the new NPR series, where we highlight the people and things that are making headlines – and the stories behind them.
Happy Birthday, Lenny and Moishe! You’ve come a long way, baby.
Who are they? Born prematurely to a surrogate mother in Kyiv just as Russia began attacking Ukraine, the twins went on a daring and uncertain journey to their eventual home in Chicago. NPR March 2022 mission coverage to evacuate the twins from Ukraine, called Operation Gemini:
“They were too small to move in the days after being born in a war zone. But as they grew stronger, Kiev became weaker and weaker. Now they are running to the border with … [a] Specialist evacuation team of US military veterans.
It was a dangerous journey that included Russian shelling, complicated border crossings and blizzards.”
Lenny and Moishe shortly after they were born.
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Lenny and Moishe shortly after they were born.
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What is the big problem? The fact that the babies have their first birthdays is a victory in itself — for both their families and those who have managed to get them out of Kiev.
- Their parents, Alex Spektor (born in Kyiv) and Irma Nuñez, watched in horror as the war and their due date approached simultaneously.
- When Katya, their surrogate, goes into early labor, the city isn’t safe. But fragile babies can’t be moved out of the hospital right away. And even if they could, driving through conflict zones would be dangerous.
- Alex and Irma reached out to military veteran Bryan Stern and his nonprofit group of mining experts from Florida called Project Dynamo, which specializes in rescuing people in war zones.
- The Dynamo Project team organized a convoy carrying little Lenny and Moishe, as well as Katya, from Kyiv to Poland. They were accompanied by two doctors, two neonatal specialists, a nurse, and a Ukrainian ambulance crew.
- “The ground shook,” Stern said, describing the Russian shelling they encountered on their journey. “I mean, the artillery doesn’t care what it is — it’s going to land where it lands. The artillery doesn’t say, like, ‘Oh, there’s babies here, so we’ll go somewhere else. .'”
- But in the end, the convoy crossed the border to Poland, where their father was waiting. “The war didn’t want to let them go. But we got them out,” Spektor told NPR at the time. “They’re so small, but they’re amazing. Because in the pictures they look so big. Oh, my God. Crazy.”
Want more war journalism? Listen Consider this episode above Are sanctions slowing down Russia’s war machine?
Alex Spektor (second from left) and Bryan Stern (second from right), the two who helped transport the twins, shortly after they arrived in Poland in March 2022.
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Alex Spektor (second from left) and Bryan Stern (second from right), the two who helped transport the twins, shortly after they arrived in Poland in March 2022.
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What are the parents saying now (because the child can’t speak yet)?
- A year later, the personalities are on display.
- Lenny is the couple’s dancer. Irma told NPR: “Watching Lenny dance is the most enjoyable thing I’ve experienced in a long time.
- “The Moishe is like a – I would say a small tank, if it weren’t so close to home,” says Alex. “Ukrainian little thing. Strong, straightforward, very strong.” “Stubborn,” Irma added. “He knows what he wants and he’s unafraid to go after it.”
Irma with twins.
Alex Spektor and Irma Nuñez
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Alex Spektor and Irma Nuñez
So what now? Parenting twins leave little time for birthday party planning. But celebrating the daily lives of the twins is also interesting enough.
- Alex said the most enjoyable part of their day as a family is sometimes just looking at their newborn’s poop.
- Irma says that a year ago, her main concern was her sons surviving in the war zone. Now she feels lucky to worry about routine parenting things like safe bath time.
- “Irma is a great mom,” Alex said. “Just seeing her with the kids is great for me. And I feel safe seeing the kids with her.”
- He knows that not everyone feels safe at the moment, especially in the city where their son was born. “It was an extremely personal event,” he said. “Our sons have a complex connection to what is happening in Ukraine today.”
Alex with twins.
Alex Spektor and Irma Nuñez
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Alex Spektor and Irma Nuñez
Find out more:
Ari Shapiro contributed to this report.
