Trent Hartsfield and his wife were supposed to permanently welcome a Ukrainian orphan to their family ... now he's in a terrifying race against time, as the brutal Russian invasion continues in Ukraine.
Trent joined TMZ live Tuesday from Bucharest, Romania -- he's flown there in hopes of finding 9-year-old Angelina, a little girl his family's trying to adopt as Putin's assault on Ukraine grows more and more brutal.
We spoke to Trent just hours after the Russians shelled a children's hospital ... putting him even more on edge. He says he and his wife fell in love with Angelina back in December when they hosted her for a month. They had to send her back in January, per Ukraine law, but they simultaneously started the process to permanently adopt her.
Once Putin declared war, Trent says he and his wife, Muff, were worried about Angelina's safety and lost all communication with her ... with the exception of one brief video call on Feb. 25.
Quite frankly, he's scared and devastated by the news out of Ukraine ... and wants to do everything in his power to bring Angelina back to the U.S. -- but, right now, it's like finding a needle in a haystack.
Trent says he'll start by going to the Romanian border with Ukraine in hopes missionaries and other volunteers can point him in the right direction.
Hundreds of American families in the process of adopting Ukrainian children are in the same plight as Trent, who says "timing is everything" in his search.
Sadly, it might also be a matter of life or death.