TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa couple is finally home after a long journey from Russia.
Tampa-native Jonathan Bush and his Russian-born wife had been living in Russia since December. His wife has chosen not to be named or shown for fear of retaliation from the Russian government.
The couple was in Russia when the invasion into Ukraine began, prompting them to schedule an early return home last weekend. On Sunday night, as they were flying on a Russian flight from Moscow to New York, Jonathan says the pilot came over the speaker to share bad news.
"The pilot says, 'Canada says we can't fly over their airways, so we have to turn around and fly back to Moscow.'"
Canada, like many other countries, had just imposed sanctions to close air space to all flights from Russia.
Bush says they were not alone in their fear of being stuck in Russia, saying, "We get back to Moscow and everyone is panicking."
The sanctions made their travel options limited and expensive, with Bush estimating the couple spent between $5,000-$7,000 on their round-about flight home.
Ultimately, they flew from Moscow to Qatar, then to New York, where they landed on Wednesday.
"I've never been so glad to be back in America and I've never been so proud to be an American," Bush said.
But, he's also proud of his wife. Bush hopes people know she, like most Russians, does not stand behind this crisis.
"She is not Putin. Putin doesn't represent everyone in Russia, just as Trump and Biden don't represent all Americans. We have to treat people as individuals."