A Ukrainian man who went to school in Oklahoma was able to flee from the Russian invasion by driving 500 miles on his moped with his girlfriend. His friends in Oklahoma are trying to help get him to the states.

"Everybody just thought they are just saying this, it's not going to happen, they are just trying to scare us so we are all scared and trying to leave Ukraine," Illya said.

Ilya went to high school and college in Tulsa, before moving back to Ukraine a few years ago.

He said he tried to wait it out at home in Kyiv. He decided to leave as the second day of bombing began and because he has American citizenship.

"I shouldn't be scared that at anytime my house is going to blow up, and when is this going to end no one knows, it's just crazy," he said.

He traveled on his moped. He and his girlfriend drove more than 500 miles to Moldova and made it out of the country.

While he was fleeing, friends he made from school in Oklahoma continued to worry for him.

"Tulsa is such a small place and Ukraine is so far away, it's easy for people to be disconnected, but it's people who have lived here that are struggling, people we know and grew up with," says Joshua Redmond.

Joshua Redmond and Landon Way say they've been talking to Illya as much as they can and trying to help him. Landon Way said he feels helpless watching his friend go through all of this.

"It's really hard for us to send anything, we can't send any money, I tried to send through Western Union, but the banks are sanctioned, it's just really difficult," Landon said.

They say they hope to get Illya back to Oklahoma soon, but worry about his friends and family still in Ukraine.

For Illya, it's hard to put into words what's happening to his home country.

"I would not wish this on my worst enemy, kids dying, mothers dying, grandmas dying," he said.