TOLEDO, Ohio — Editor's note: The above video originally aired on Feb. 26, 2022.
A local man is safely back in Toledo, after evacuating Ukraine.
Josh, who isn't able to give his last name, was in Kyiv for eight months, working within church networking, and also teaching English.
Following recommendations from the U.S. State Department, his team left the country about a month ago.
"It was a difficult time. Me and my team of four other Americans have a deep love for Ukraine and its people so it was a very hard decision to make and a hard thing to process," Josh said.
He said they left just in time, but he's heartbroken over what's happening there now.
"It's been a very saddening and hard time to see our friends in Kyiv, as well in the east, to experience such tragedy and senseless tragedy really," Josh said.
He was one of an unknown number of Americans and other foreign workers and residents who were forced to leave as tensions with Russia made it unsafe to stay in the country they had come to love.
On Feb. 12 the Biden administration escalated their earlier warnings for Americans to leave the country, urging people to evacuate Ukraine within 48 hours because of the imminent Russian attack. Russia invaded Ukraine Feb. 24.
The government also relocated several hundred U.S. officials, moving the vast majority of the almost 200 American officials from Kyiv to the far western portion of Ukraine, near the polish border.
Josh hopes to return to Ukraine, when it becomes safe.
Right now, he is keeping in touch with people there, getting as many updates as possible.
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