A University of Illinois Springfield men's tennis player is 5,000 miles from home.

Nikita Revin is from Kyiv, Ukraine, the center of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

He tells us what life is like for his family and friends stuck in a country now unrecognizable.

"When I hear news about missiles in my home city, I was really in shock about it," Revin said. "I was like 'my family is there,' so I don't know what to do, to be honest."

"But the issue is that for example, my dad can not make it to Kyiv because all of the bridges have been blown up to avoid Russian troops to go through it," Revin said. "Right now it's just absolutely a mess, to be honest. He's just there and he doesn't know what to do."

Revin says he's worried for his family and friends. Some are in the military fighting on the front lines. While others are volunteering to help Ukrainian troops.

This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on March 1, 2022.