Friday 5: For 2 NASCAR drivers from Ukraine, war causes pain, grief

Igor Romanov apologizes, although he doesn’t need to do so. One of two drivers from Ukraine in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Romanov speaks English well, but there are times when he pauses, waves his arms, and searches for the right word as he discusses the impact of war in his country. 

“It’s really hard when you are emotional, you forget some words,” he told NBC Sports.

Romanov lived in Kyiv, Ukraine until Russian missiles rained on his city and troops advanced. The explosions were distant, yet the shock waves rattled his windows. 

“We need to go,” Romanov told his wife. 

He, his wife, 10-year-old son and the family cat fled the city shortly after the attack started in February. They traveled nearly 350 miles to Lviv in western Ukraine.

Romanov sees videos and pictures of the devastation in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Buildings he is familiar with are destroyed or damaged. The shopping mall destroyed by a missile — the impact caught on a security camera — he knows well. He was there a couple of weeks before the war began when he had a meeting about having a new TV studio there.

In his role as a director of photography at a Ukrainian TV station, he sees his hometown’s devastation daily. Even so, the notion is hard to fathom.

“I remember in my head, all these places are still like they were before the war,” he said via Zoom. “I see the photos (of the damage). I post them on Facebook because I want the world community to see this crazy destruction.”

The images are painful to view.  

“It’s really hard to see that,” Romanov said. “I understand how many lives were destroyed, how many dreams were destroyed. It’s probably the hardest thing. I see how many children have died. It’s not a problem to build a new building or