COLUMBIA, S.C. — As the Russian invasion into Ukraine rolls into another night, the effect on South Carolinians with ties to the nation is worsening.
Vlad Rabinov says he's originally from Ukraine, but owns a liquor store in Columbia's Sandhills area.
Between sales, he finds himself responding to messages from friends and family at war.
"Friend just sent me a text message ... he said a rocket went through his house," Rabinov said. "Military troops coming tomorrow, whoever in charge.... They ask him to move out of his house, to the neighbor house, to stay away from a bomb."
Elsewhere in Ukraine, another one of his friends has been in hiding.
"I say, hey buddy we gon’ talk tomorrow," Rabinov said. "He said, we might don’t have a tomorrow."
He asked one of them if the Russians will allow civilians to leave.
"My friend replies, it's all BS. They been bombing them, so people can't get out," Rabinov said.
Yaroslaw Bazaliy, a Ukrainian who also lives in Columbia, said his family is in the nation as well and the path to safety is treacherous.
"They’re asked to turn off their cell phones so that the trains are not targeted by the missiles," Bazaliy said. "So, no where you are you will be feeling that you are completely safe.”
Despite the risk, Rabinov said the drive to leave is rising.
"He call me, he said, I’m scared. I don’t want any war. I don’t want to kill anybody," Rabinov said. "After five days siting in a basement and being scared, he said, if I have to die, I'm not just going to die in a basement.”
His goal now is to fight for his nation, in an effort to stay alive.