KYIV, Ukraine — Ryan Baird, of Elsah, Illinois, woke up to the sound of bombing near his apartment in Kyiv, where Russia launched attacks early Thursday.
Dozens of Ukrainian service members and civilians were killed in the first full day of fighting in the country.
"It was surreal so I jumped out of bed and of course, my mom called me and she said there was a full-scale invasion going on," Baird said.
Baird shared with 5 On Your Side a picture of the city apartment.
The cruise director bought his place in Ukraine in 2019.
"I met my wife, my future wife, on a ship. We got married. And we've been working on the visa for two years," he said.
Baird said the The United States Embassy has been really good at communication, “but because my wife doesn't have a Visa, I just didn't want to fly and leave her here so we were not expecting this happen but were also prepared.”
Thousands of others were trapped by travel restrictions with petrol stations running out of fuel, and the airport bombing.
While that will be the impact the next few days, Baird still has a house he pays for back home and responsibilities.
Like many in the U.S., he is worried about the economic toll this war could take.
“Everything has a trickle effect. Of course, a lot of natural gas comes from Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe," Baird added.
For now, he was grateful to have enough cash in his pocket and support from back home.
Baird mentioned he was thankful to communicate with his family using technology and the internet.
During an address to the nation, President Biden promised U.S. troops will not be fighting inside Ukraine but will commit more force to help defend NATO allies that Putin may target.