There are burned tanks and corpses in the streets of Bucha, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, a situation Alex Laikhov never imagined he would see.
Laikhov, 53, a former KGB officer who lives in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, and has relatives in the Bay Area, detailed to KCBS Radio the harrowing conditions he and his family are currently living in at the center of the Russia-Ukraine War, where tanks have been as close as 50 meters from his home.
"(Aircrafts) launched their attack on a nearby city where my relatives are and they destroyed several quarters of houses," he said. "From time to time we have to go to the basement. But we are getting accustomed to that."
"It's horrible. It is in my town," he said.
Laikhov moved to Ukraine after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1992. He then became a Jehoveh Witness — a religion which is banned in Russia — and is now, as he described, a peaceful man, who will not take up arms in the war.
"I've lived through several collapses in my life," he said. "And this is the biggest one."
He lives with his wife and his teenage daughter, along with his parents and in-laws who are in their late 70s and 80s, and they collectively decided to stay in the city, though they've made preparations should they need to flee.
Nearly 1 million people have fled Ukraine in recent days, but Laikhov said it's not safe to leave Bucha now. Though he and his family have gasoline, he explained that driving a car would make them a target. He said he's waiting for conditions to be safe to move out of the city, as they have enough food and supplies to survive at home.
"I'm trying to be pragmatic. I try to weigh the risk. And right now the risk to move is more during this state," he explained.
Laikhov is employed by an American engineering firm and he hopes he's able to continue working for them in the future.
He said he's also is a shareholder for another company which produces bottles and jars, whose facility is in Kyiv. He said he has three business partners and all three of their homes have been destroyed during the war - only kilometers away from Laikhov's house, which still remains standing. This year would be the 20th anniversary of their company, however he said "there is no company now."
Laikhov has received messages of support from around the world, from friends and family in Russia, Kazakhstan, the U.S, Ecuador, and parts of Europe.
"I have relatives (in Russia). I have friends. I have business partners in Russia. And they are really shocked," he said.
He said he recently got word of a story involving one of his close friends who's with the Russian military. The friend recently fought in Syria — but threw his machine gun on the ground when his unit crossed the border from Belarus and said he would not shoot at Ukranians.
"This guy will go to the prison. But he did it. And he's the man," Laikhov said.
Minutes after Laikov finished speaking with KCBS Radio, the aircraft attack alarms went off and his family was once again forced to shelter in the basement.
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