RALEIGH, N.C. – The war in Ukraine has sent the U.S. stock market sliding on a roller coaster of volatility, and many commodity markets, like gold, have seen prices soar.

For one jewelry shop photographer in Raleigh, the invasion has had both personal and professional impacts.

Sofi Khmara was just 15 years old when she and her parents escaped Ukraine in 2014, when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea. At the time, she says it wasn’t safe to leave home or go to school.

Today, many of Khmara's family and friends are still in her hometown of Kyiv, including her uncles, who have joined thousands of civilians in the fight against the Russian invasion.

“I've been losing sleep. I've been stressing out like never in my life because the amount of terror…,” Khmara said. “Just sheer not knowing what's going to be tomorrow what's going to happen to my friends and my family and my home country that I'm still very attached to, it's just terrifying.”

While going to work each day at Raleigh Diamond has been a welcome distraction, the impacts of the war in Ukraine are being felt there too, in the price of gold.

More and more people have been coming to their store to sell their gold.

James Vincent, the founder of Raleigh Diamond, expects the price of gold to continue to climb as the crisis continues.

“Two things drive all commodity prices: fear and greed,” Vincent explained. “That’s when you see the most movement. That’s when you see volatility. That’s when you see swings in precious metals, including gold.”

When people come in to sell jewelry, Vincent says they weigh each piece and pay according to the current value of gold per ounce. As the price rises, more people have come in.

“If there's any issues in the marketplace or any foreign or domestic war or anything that, that's going to cause people to feel like they need that that extra security,” Vincent said. “They like to put their money into gold, because gold has to perform very well during times such as this.”

During the first weeks of the invasion, the price of gold rose above $2,000 per ounce. While it’s dropped from then, Vincent believes it will keep rising.  

People have been supporting Ukrainian-owned products and businesses. Americans have also been booking Airbnb rentals in in the war-torn country. Airbnb says all service fees in Ukraine are being waved.

Click here for a list of humanitarian relief organizations that are accepting monetary donations.